Say Goodbye
by Nigotta
Summary: With Akatsuki hot on his trail, 15 year old Naruto decides to leave Konoha behind. Years in the future, he returns wounded and with devastating news. Tired but willing to leave once more, someone must hold onto him to keep him from saying goodbye again.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is my baby right now. Rating is subject to change. There is yaoi and shonen-ai. It is most likely going to be a SasuNaruSasu. There is some very slight SasuSaku, but don't worry too much about it. If you read on, you'll understand why! Also, there is a substantial time jump. Thank you and please enjoy .!

"Naruto, are you absolutely sure about this?"

The strain in Tsunade's voice was evident despite her best efforts to keep it at bay, and she began to wish more and more that she hadn't finished off her last bit of sake before such an emotional meeting. To be fair to herself, she reasoned that she held such and strong attachment to the current circumstances, because the boy before her bore such a shocking resemblance to her long deceased younger brother. Not only did they share appearances, but their hearts were quite similar as well, both so strong, fighting for things so far out of reach yet never giving up. She had lost her brother to war and she would be damned if she just sat by and watched as another one walked away from her. She found that she was growing very weary of seeing people die for a greater good that never seemed to come. That was the main reason why she had never wanted to be Hokage.

Her life before this position had been nothing but an endless alcoholic stupor that had slowly but surely softened the edges of a past she thought she could no longer face. But then Naruto had come along under the tutelage of none other than Jaraiya, and light began to spill in through the cracks, warming her cold heart. After having only known him for a few years she had grown so very fond of him despite his loud and sometimes rude comments. At their first meeting she had been pleasantly surprised by his ambition to succeed, to overcome the monster that everyone believed him to be. He was why she had agreed to become the fifth after all.

But these were her emotions speaking again. Rubbing her temples in a weary fashion, she habitually searched her desk and the surrounding area for an open bottle of sake before remembering, not for the first time, that she had already finished off the last batch. Agitated, she leaned back in her chair and watched as Naruto seriously pondered her question.

A stream of afternoon sunshine poured in through the open window and slanted across the young ninja, catching his hair in its glare. The blonde, almost golden, strands danced with the gentle breeze that brushed through the already cool room and shone brightly against the warming sunlight. His distant, sharp blue eyes seemed to glow, but Tsunade noticed it was with sadness more than anything else. This decision was just as painful if not more so for him.

"You know," Tsunade began, "you don't have to do this." Her voice was a whisper, though this time it was stronger now that she had her emotions in check.

Naruto turned his attention from the large picture window and settled it onto her worried, amber gaze. His intense blue eyes bored into her, as though he were peeling away layers of her, through skin, bone, and sinew, to see into her heart.

"But I do." He said, matching her whisper, before turning back to the window seemingly caught up in the view.

Frowning, Tsunade felt her last bit of hope die, knowing that once Naruto was decided on something there was almost no changing his mind. She continued to study his profile in silence as he stared out the window, allowing her mind to sift through the many events that had led to this precarious moment. Perhaps it had truly begun with Uchiha Sasuke's return eight months prior.

There had been no bloodshed or anticlimactic battle. He had simply come on his own free will, partially decayed head of Orochimaru in his grasp and a dead look lingering in his eyes. Of course initially, it had been a surprise to see the young avenger. Moving like a ghost past her well trained guards and disabling a few of the major wards around the village, he had slipped into her office without alerting anyone of his presence. He had also looked the part, being so pale that Tsunade had been able to see the map of his milky, blue veins just beneath his skin.

The surprise had quickly worn off, however, at the revelation that Orochimaru was dead. Staring at the clean cut just along the second vertebrae, she had been thrust back to a time when all of them had been innocent genin, Jaraiya, Orochimaru, and herself, none of them yet tainted by the serious duties of a ninja. She'd felt remorse and perhaps even a dash of regret at the way things had turned out, but she also felt relieved that Orochimaru was no more. His corruption would no longer hang over her like stale air.

As for the Uchiha, it had saddened her greatly at the state of malnourishment and unrest he had come back in. He was still a child after all, even through all the blood and pain, missing nin or not. Within interrogation, they had asked Sasuke why he'd dared to return. Why now after all this time? He had merely shrugged his shoulders, still managing to maintain a superior air despite the fact that he was restrained, bound, and too weak, thin, and exhausted to even lift a finger, saying that it had been time. It was common knowledge to the shinobi of Konoha that Orochimaru had been planning to take over Sasuke's body with the use of one of his forbidden jutsu. They easily just assumed that he had come to his senses and slain the snake before such a thing could happen, that it had 'just been time.'

Tsunade did not doubt that this was probably partially the truth. But something kept whispering inside her that this was not the only reason. Call it woman's intuition, but she did not believe it to be a malicious intent. She was just sure there was another side to it. Perhaps he was running from something or maybe even running to something, but she could not imagine what was so important now that had not been before he left. She doubted if even Sasuke knew himself.

At first, after seeing how the Uchiha had been such a negative impact on Naruto, Tsunade had not been too keen on helping the boy out in any way. Sasuke obviously was not good for the blonde. He was the reason Naruto had been in such distress for so many years, but Naruto had begged her to try and sway the council's decision. He himself had mentioned that the circumstances under which Sasuke had left had had nothing to do with the village itself.

This admission had caught Tsunade's interest, but when she had tried to prompt Naruto into telling more, he'd shut down and only said that it was not his place to speak of such things. This greatly surprised Tsunade. After all, Naruto was known to be quite loud and somewhat slow on the uptake. She had never seen him drop a subject so quickly and adamantly. It was obvious that he was much more observant than what people gave him credit for.

Bn Even so, Tsunade continued to resist Naruto's pleadings. She knew the whole Sasuke-defecting–from-the-village thing had really been hard on him, but she was afraid that Sasuke's return would cause even more damage. But despite all of his suffering, Naruto hadn't allowed Sasuke's betrayal to stop him from believing in his teammate. Even back when he had been just a 12-year-old genin she could tell that beneath his tough words, Naruto had really cared about the darker boy. She did not know what Naruto had been like before she had been Hokage, but not long after Sasuke left and she had become said leader, the blond ended up falling into a depression. His emotional state was not evident to everyone. As far as she could tell only Jaraiya and Sakura had noticed other than herself. Naruto worked so hard, even now, to hide his true emotions behind a constantly cheerful façade that worked effectively on most people, but it also succeeded in wearing him out both emotionally and physically. Somehow Naruto blamed himself for Sasuke's defection and, underneath that carefully laid bravado, was just a child who had never known the true comfort of a mothers embrace or the kindness of people in general.

She could not fathom what logic Naruto had used to convince himself of being behind the other boy's leaving, but it was a habit Tsunade had witnessed and observed throughout the years. Whenever something went wrong, or he failed a mission, Naruto made sure that everyone felt it was his fault. Tsunade realized it was a quirk born from years of scorn and isolation; something the poor boy probably did unconsciously in hopes that people would like him. No matter what anyone said he always let the heavy weight of mistakes not his own rest upon his shoulders. She was unsure as to how Sasuke would affect Naruto if he were allowed to live as a ninja of Konoha once more, and she was unwilling to make a bad decision that could only make things worse. After many sleepless nights she finally surrendered to Naruto's pleadings and agreed to help.

Both Tsunade and Kakashi had pled Sasuke's case to the council. He had eliminated one of the biggest threats to Konoha and could help with many of the future problems that arose. There was no reason to kill something of such value, especially one of the last Sharingan users. The council had been unsure at first, usually missing-nin received the death sentence, but they finally saw the many possibilities of him being an asset to the village. He was the last of his bloodline after all. With the idea of power in their minds and a feeling of invincibility in their hearts, they announced their verdict and, being the greedy bastards that they truly were, agreed to reinstate Sasuke as a ninja of Konoha.

Nonetheless, Sasuke had not gotten off without a punishment and had been made to endure a solitary few weeks in jail, and six months of charka restraints to insure his loyalty. Tsunade was not sure how such menial things could prove a person's loyalty, but the council had probably just wanted to assert what little authority they had, the bunch of old timing sods. Personally, Sasuke had gained her trust and respect the moment he had dumped Orochimaru's emaciated head onto her desk, though she was reluctant to admit it aloud. She still held a grudge against him for all the damage he had dealt to her gaki.

After Sasuke gained his freedom, Tsunade made sure to keep an eye on him. Mentally, he could not have been very stable. After the horrors he had been made to face as a young, orphaned child, and now this, Orochimaru and his warped jutsus and creepy leer, she was wary for the health of both Sasuke and Naruto. She could only guess at what things he had seen and been through while in sound, knowing that Orochimaru had always had a certain aspect to him that made her skin prickle. She was sure that he had abused the boy in more ways than one. It made her blood boil at the mere thought of it, but she had never had the courage to ask Sasuke himself, and so many things still remained uncertain.

Without even realizing it, she had stopped viewing Sasuke as a loose cannon and unrepentant killer, and saw him for the sad, worn down boy he refused to let anyone know. It was obvious to her that he was suffering from his stay with Orochimaru, but she knew that he hid it well behind his air of cold superiority. The only outward signs of it had been the physical state he had returned in, which was quickly remedied, but Tsunade had been alive for a long time and had seen many things. She knew that some scars never faded. It wasn't that he was mentally unstable or physically injured. He just had this air of weary resignation, as if life were too tiresome to be bothered with. Whenever in his presence, she felt this achingly palpable emptiness as if he were nothing but a shell of the former human being he had once been.

If possible he was even quieter than before, going days, even weeks, before he uttered so much as a syllable. He was a healthier weight now, and you could no longer count his ribs beneath all of that hard earned muscle, but he was quiet and impassive at the best of times. Sometimes she would look at him and see the fatigue in the way he pushed his shoulders back, defiantly holding his head high, still trying to hold onto his mask even as it seemed to crumble about his feet. She wondered at how many hours of rest he got in a week, how many times he woke from nightmares that never seemed to stop. The villagers and other fellow shinobi did not seem to notice these small things, however. Everyone praised him, happy that their prodigal son had returned to them, rejoicing at the fact that he was finally back. Tsunade highly doubted that Sasuke believed Konoha to be his home. She wondered if he had ever had a home to begin with.

As if realizing the turn her thoughts had taken, Naruto turned his sky colored gaze away from the window and back to her. He was quiet for a moment, just watching her with no expression before he flashed the grin she had seen him bare for years.

"Don't worry baa-chan. I'm strong enough now to take care of myself. Besides, this is for the best." His voice sounded resigned, completely at odds with the smile that stretched his lips.

Despite this, Tsunade had to agree with his statement. Regardless of Sasuke's defection and overall health, the growth of team 7 as a whole was exponential. The brunette had come back from Oto much improved from what he had been as a young genin, this much having been proven after he effortlessly passed the chunin exams. His speed was incredible, almost on par with that of Gai's, and he knew more jutsus than the average Anbu.

The same went for both Naruto and Sakura, as well. Naruto had thrown himself into training after Sasuke left under the pretense of becoming strong enough to bring him back, but it was probably just an attempt at filling the space that Sasuke had once occupied. He'd traveled with Jaraiya for a couple years and had quickly mastered many jutsus himself, including a more powerful form of Rasengan. Not only that but he had managed to tame the demon within him to some degree, a feat that had been by no means easy.

Tsunade could not even count all the times she had been needed to heal horrendous wounds and burns due to the rigorous training regimen he had set for himself. Many tried to distract him from his training, tried to keep him from severely hurting himself, but he saw through their tactics and continued onward. He had been getting stronger and was breaking all at the same time.

For her part, Sakura had trained beneath her, and Tsunade was proud to say that the girl could very well surpass her in skills given a few years time. It was obvious that she had worked hard to catch up with her two counterparts despite society's belief that females could not compare to males in terms physicality. But if this was truly the case, then Sakura was a living anomaly. Her charka control was so good she had easily mastered and surpassed Tsunade's superhuman strength and her medical ninjutsus were superb. Her genjustsus weren't half bad either.

Even so, despite all the individual growth, they still lacked the teamwork that could have made team 7 invincible. They were able to complete missions with amazing results, but there was still so much potential left untouched. Once Sasuke had been reinstated as a ninja, both Naruto and Sakura had welcomed him easily enough after the initial shock and anger had worn off, but it was Sasuke that held them back this time. He was, as always, apathetic and cold towards his teammates. This really wasn't unusual in the slightest but some things would need to change in order to rebuild the bridges he had burned by leaving. It was not that Tsunade expected him to open up and express himself in song and dance, nothing like that, but he needed to be more willing. Communication was a key component to good teamwork skills and right now neither Naruto nor Sakura could understand Sasuke, at least not anymore. There may have been a time when they could read each other like an open book, and his silences were easily translated, but he had come back different. They had all changed, and Tsunade could not say if it would be for better or worse.

Maybe things might have worked out if given the time, but Akatsuki just had to rear its ugly head. Tsunade had been getting reports for weeks of ninjas clad in red clouds decimating small villages in the bordering countries, and somehow the information had gotten into the village gossip and reached a certain blonde chunin's ears. She had a feeling it had not been an accident but rather a deliberate leak. To think of the lengths to which people would go to drive him away severely pissed her off.

Now the 15-year-old stood before her requesting leave of the village hoping to protect it and its occupants, willing to sacrifice for people who treated him so. He was sure that Akatsuki was on its way toward Konoha in an attempt to finish rounding up the remaining biju. He believed that if he were not in the village then Akatsuki would have no reason to attack it.

As a leader and fellow ninja Tsunade saw the logic in it. The only reason such an organization would ever risk approaching such a large ninja village was if there was something inside it that they believed was worth obtaining, and they had been after the Kyuubi no Kitsune for years. But as a sister figure and a human being she saw the danger as well. Biting her lip, she wondered whether she should allow this boy before her to willingly make a sacrifice or be selfish and try to protect him. She sighed knowing that she could not allow her personal views to mar her decision. With that in mind, she already knew the right answer.

Naruto continued to watch her, grin still in place. He was proud of himself that his voice had not wavered once despite his inner turmoil, and he clenched his jaw in an attempt to keep it from trembling. Now that he was actually looking at her, Tsunade appeared ashen and tired. The sight of it just made Naruto all the sadder. He knew that the threat of Akatsuki loomed greatly over her as Hokage and his determination to leave grew stronger in response. He would do anything to protect this woman who had somehow taken a liking to him. Anything at all for this village he foolishly loved, though it did not love him back.

He watched as she exhaled a large breath and knew he had won.

"Fine gaki, I grant your request, but I won't be the one to tell Sakura or Sasuke or anyone else for that matter." She looked up from the whorls of wood in her desk and into his somber eyes. She knew she would miss him terribly. Already she could feel the inevitable silence and cold that would be left in his wake, as if he were the sun, and without him she would wilt.

At the sound of Sasuke's name, Naruto turned his gaze back to the window and dropped the grin from his face. It hurt to smile when he was feeling anything but happy. But, if he were being truly honest, he had gotten used to the contradiction of it over the years. He suspected that perhaps he did not know what true happiness was, but he had nothing to compare it to, and no one he felt he could truthfully talk to, so he was never quite sure.

He watched as villagers walked through the streets far below him, oblivious to his problems, and abstractly imagined that they all were heading home to love ones who waited on baited breath for their arrival. The sun was sinking steadily over the rooftops casting everything in a fiery glow. It was a beautiful sight, one he would miss once he was gone.

Staring into the red glow of the sun, he distracted himself from the current state of affairs and the ever present pain in his chest with the memory of the comrades and friends he would be leaving behind. He reminded himself that he was leaving for their sake. It was maybe the only thing that he could do to keep the village safe, not only from the Akatsuki but himself as well.

He recalled the exact color of Sakuras hair, the same color of cherry blossoms, and how the shadows in it were always a light violet color that reminded him of wildflowers. Sometimes it even smelled like flowers, a fragrance that floated on the wind and caught Naruto's sharp demonic senses.

Whenever Kakashi truly found something funny his visible eye would not only curve slightly but he would raise his silver eyebrow a fraction as if surprised at his own mirth.

Iruka's scar turned scarlet when he blushed really hard, and, when it was late at night, he would leave his hair down to brush against his shoulders and cheeks softly. Naruto had often as a child contemplated stealing the kindly chunnin's hair ties so that the entire village would get a chance to see how beautiful his sensei was despite the fact that men were supposedly not supposed to look beautiful, least of all to other males. What fodder that was.

Kiba sometimes laughed too loud when he was embarrassed and Akamaru would almost instinctively shift to stand in front of him, as if to shield him from whatever caused his discomfort.

Hinata blushed so prettily, whether it was because she was happy or embarrassed, and often she stumbled over her words, but it was not because she was shy as was popular belief, but rather there were so many things she felt she needed to say that she could not get out quick enough. Naruto supposed it came from having to deal with her father who barely gave her enough time to squeeze in a word edge wise before he was reprimanding her.

Ino always had a fierce, happy light in her baby blue eyes that reflected in Sakura's pretty emerald ones when they were fighting with each other. That was probably why the pink kunoichi smelt like flowers all the time, because Ino's family owned the Yamanaka Flower Shoppe on the main fanfare, and the two could rarely be found apart.

Neji never really smiled but when he found something amusing he turned his head to the side in full profile so you wouldn't catch the rare emotion dancing in his pale, powder eyes. He privately would have liked to laugh out loud but thought that a display of emotions could be used against him in possible future battles. He was always on the defensive.

Even though Shikamaru appeared a lazy bum you could tell when he was thinking or pondering something by the small furrow that was almost always present between his dark brown eyebrows.

Lee was always loud and energetic only because he remembered a time when he thought he would not reach the goals he had made for himself, and plus he was born naturally optimistic and full of energy.

Lastly Naruto thought about the old Sasuke of childhood, and the new Sasuke he had only known for a few months. He remembered the way Sasuke used to tilt his head a fraction to the right in silent question when he refused to ask something out loud. He had even turned his back on people when he thought he was about to lose his composure and show an emotion whether it was happy or sad. When he was frustrated about something, he would push his bangs out of his eyes and behind his ears harshly, as if the dark strands of hair had personally offended him. It was something completely unconscious that he still did to this day despite the fact that he rarely seemed alive anymore. Whenever he got really pissed the nape of his neck got a little pink and his eyes would get this really sharp look in them, like he was trying to cut you without having to actually touch you. Naruto had seen it so many times, always on the receiving end of it. When he was caught off guard or surprised the left corner of his mouth twitched upward slightly, and sometimes, if Naruto was really lucky, instead of having nightmares he would dream about the innocent way a twelve year old Sasuke had once smiled at a stray cat or perhaps the color of the autumn leaves.

All of these small things quickly ran through his mind and helped calm his racing heart, reassuring him that he was making the right choice. Even when he was gone, he would still remember his small makeshift family even after his own memory had faded from their minds. He had learned when he was younger that it was hard to hold on to the things you really wanted, so he had always tried to keep the smaller things that most people would not know to take from him. He felt safe knowing that he would have something to remember his old life by when everything else was gone.

Remembering those faraway days of his childhood, Naruto absently adjusted his headband and fingered the kunai pouch that hung about his waist. He had been happy for awhile, before Sasuke left. Perhaps he had known true happiness after all, even if it was for such a short time.

"Actually Tsunade, I was hoping not to tell anyone. It will make things easier for them in the long run." Naruto did not turn away from the view as he addressed her. He stared intently at the wavy glass of the slightly dirty window, his voice hushed, barely there in the stillness of the approaching dusk. In his mind he held on tightly to the memory of a young Sasuke, happy and alive.

"I mean eventually they will figure it out, but I would rather them finding out on their own than telling them point blank." Behind his eyelids he watched as an imagined Sasuke gleefully waved him goodbye.

No one would really mind his absence, something he knew to be inevitable. There would maybe be a few people to really care, like Konohamaru and Iruka, but the whole village would rejoice at the prospect of him leaving. His teammates would probably enjoy not having him around as well, Sasuke especially. He most likely hated Naruto more than the entire village put together, but to Naruto it did not matter.

Despite all of Sasuke's hostility towards him, Naruto was probably going to miss him the most out of everyone else. At least Sasuke hated him for being loud and annoying and incompetent, and not because of the demon he carried. At least he disliked him for regular reasons, and not because of the burden that had been forced on him. Sasuke had taken the time to stop and see him, see Naruto instead of the Kyuubi, and for that Naruto would always be grateful.

He knew that there was so much more to Sasuke than the brunette let on, a completely different person that he hid beneath layers of pain and suffering. There was someone beautiful on the inside that reflected his outer beauty as well. That person trained with Naruto and fought with him. That person laughed and cried and felt on the inside when it he could not on the outside. That person had once saved his life.

"What!" Tsunade exclaimed, jumping up from her red upholstered Hokage's chair. "But what about Iruka? He will be so worried about you. Besides that, what about Sasuke and your team? Do you really think they won't notice that something is up when you don't show up for missions? Team 7 just got back together! I am sure they will not like losing yet another member, especially without any type of warning!" Her voice completely betrayed her disbelief as she allowed her words to hang heavily in the air.

Of all things she probably thought that he wanted to be some sort of hero for simply doing what had to be done. He supposed the assumption made sense seeing as he was supposed to be Uzumaki Naruto, the knuckleheaded ninja, but, all his life, Naruto had known that it would come to something like this. He had lived in fear of it, but now it was an acceptable reality, something unavoidable like a brick wall.

He allowed himself to recall Sasuke sneaking away from the village and never looking back, vanishing into the shadows born out of his hate. Pain laced through Naruto's chest at the thought. He easily remembered waking up that one dreadful morning to the heavy feeling that something was not right. He had brushed it off telling himself that he always woke up unsettled, a result of carrying the demon, ignoring the fact that he felt as if he would vomit at any given moment. It was not until later after they had found Sakura and she had gotten her story out around a flood of tears that the reality of the situation came to light. Sasuke had left them. Sasuke had left _him._

Inside he knew that Sasuke had never particularly liked him, but Naruto had still felt so alone at that moment, an almost agonizing pull on his heart. At least Sasuke had seen him enough to stop and insult him. At least the other boy had not hated him irrationally as so many others still did. Naruto had tried desperately to hold onto what was steadily slipping from his grasp, like sand through his fingers, already knowing there was nothing he could do. The fist through his chest was just physical proof that he had never been worth any of Sasuke's few words.

He pushed the painful memories away. This was different. He was just a demon in people's eyes, never worth enough, never meeting expectations. After hearing the jeers and insults all his life he could not help but believe them. After all, no one had ever told him anything different. He was a monster, a worthless piece of trash. He would never surmount to anything, and no one would ever love him. No one would feel his absence the way he had Sasuke's. No one had ever seen him as anything more than an annoyance and an obstacle. Why would that change now? It was painfully true, but he had come to terms with it long before he ever thought he would have to truly face it as he was now.

Either way, whether he was missed or not was irrelevant in the end. Leaving was the right thing to do. It guaranteed safety to the village and a future for the people who deserved it most. For Sasuke he prayed it would be enough. All he wanted and could hope for was the other's happiness. He hoped that with time, Sasuke could find the courage to leave the past behind him and turn to the people who were still alive and willing to help. Naruto would leave so that he had the chance to do just that. He was willing to die so that his friends would get their shot at true happiness even when he could not.

And he probably was going to be dead soon enough anyway, now that he was leaving the safety of the village, and the Akatsuki were so close to getting what they wanted. He could almost feel them breathing down his neck. It made him feel immensely guilty to think that he could be the cause of many peoples' deaths. He could already feel the blood staining his hands, sticky and, oh, so red. To add to it, he refused to be the cause of Sasuke finally confronting his brother. He sometimes had nightmares of blood and carnage, Sasuke torn and dying in the rubble.

Even though the brunette had been training to kill his Aniki for years it would haunt him if anything happened to the other boy because Itachi had been lured by the prospect of the Kyuubi. The guilt of it would crush him, and leave him breathless. While Sasuke had undeniably gotten stronger during his stay in Sound, he still was not ready to face the other. Despite all of that hard work and agonizing struggle there was still a key component that he was missing.

Naruto was not saying that his defection and fight for power had been for nothing. It was just that Sasuke would not be at his full potential until he finally obtained that missing piece. What he needed was something to live for, a reason to fight and even die if need be. No, the murder of his entire clan was not enough. His need for revenge was still fueled by hate, anger, and most of all fear.

What Sasuke really needed was _someone _to fight for, someone who could make him laugh and finally smile, someone who could draw that beautiful, hidden person out of him. Someone who could bring him back to life after those three unknown years away within Orochimaru's grasp. Someone special who could show him the true power of having something you never wanted to let go of. Naruto was sure that Sasuke would eventually find an amazing girl to love out of all his admirers and friends, someone who could really _see _him. Then he would be ready.

"Please, Tsunade-baba. This is for the best." Naruto repeated, his voice unsteady at the turn his thoughts had taken. He needed to stop thinking in such depressing ways. If he allowed himself to be so down then people would be able to exploit his weaknesses. He had to keep the Kyuubi from Akatsuki. This meant that he needed to be stronger. Weakness was not an option.

Tsunade looked into his sad blue eyes and felt her resolve crumble. How could she say no to the one thing he had ever seriously asked her for? She slumped back into her chair with a defeated sigh and nodded.

"Fine. Jaraiya leaves tonight. Be packed and ready to leave by 7:00 at the main gates." Gods, she felt so tired now. It swept over her in waves and she knew that as soon as Naruto was gone she would turn to her precious sake. Anything to forget this sad, broken child she was sending away.

Naruto forced his face back into the semblance of a grin once more, though it was overshadowed by sadness and grief, and gave her a mock salute. "Yes ma'am."

Now that he had gained authorized consent he allowed his mask to completely drop, simply too weary to maintain it.

Turning, he headed towards the ornately carved doors and glanced around the office as he realized he might never see it again. He tried to commit to memory every detail from the large dark bookshelves littered with scrolls and papers, to the salmon colored couch and chairs pushed off to the side of the wide desk. He even scanned along the beige walls hoping to catalog every scratch and mark along its expanse. Finally he looked out the window one last time hoping that the view would never fade. He had always hoped that one day this would all be his, even knowing it was very unlikely with the demon residing in his belly. That hadn't stopped him from fantasizing then, but now reality crashed down upon him with startling clarity. He was leaving his dreams behind as well. With his foot on the threshold he whispered his departing words without turning back, allowing his respect for her to slip into his tone.

"May we meet again Hokage-sama." Then he was gone.

Neither of them had mentioned the fact that he might never return to the village, but now Tsunade could feel stray tears leak from her eyes and course down her cheeks. At least she knew he was safe with Jaraiya. He cared about Naruto almost as much as she did, and she trusted him to protect the blonde for as long as he could. If anyone asked she would hold to her promise and say he was training again. Most anyone would believe her small fib seeing as that was all they had known the boy to do. Train to become strong, train to become Hokage. What a fucking joke life was. How cruel and complicated things became when one was not watching close enough. Absently she wondered how team 7 would react. They got one member back just to lose another.

Gods, she needed sake.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Say Goodbye

As Naruto slipped from Tsunade's office he detached himself from his raging emotions, allowing a sort of veil to numb him. He needed to think clearly on this, his last night within the only home he had ever known. It may not have treated him well, but he had nothing else left to him, and after tonight he wouldn't have it either.

Just as he was nearing the door, he made sure to tuck a sealed envelope with Tsunade's name neatly scrawled on it in blue within the confines of one of her bookshelves. It was quite possible that she might never find it there, but that was okay. The words inside were really meant for him. He felt that if he did not let them out he would miss his only chance at telling those few people how he really thought of them, even if it was only ink on paper. It would be a relief to finally have it all out of him.

He discretely slipped the crisp envelope between a half empty sake bottle that was missing the brand name label and an earth jutsu scroll. The tall bookshelf was positioned just beside the door so that his movements went unnoticed to the woman behind him, who was still lost in her thoughts. The paper felt dry and final as it left his fingers and he almost wanted to snatch it back, afraid for a moment to have the words out in the world, but he retreated hesitantly before hurrying from the room. This was something he had resolved to do. He would not back out now. The letter was short, one out of a total of five, but despite the length he hoped that if it was ever read his sincerity would be evident.

It was written in rhyme, as were all his letters. The reason for this was because it always felt like he was speaking in riddles to people, skirting around the truth and hiding behind masks and facades, adorning a disguise that was not his own, and essentially he supposed that was exactly how he interacted with people. He knew he was smarter than he let on and truthfully, why would a ninja wear orange? But he had never had the courage to be himself.

People hurt and made fun of him for traits that were false to his true personality, but if someone knew of his real character he was sure he would not be able to survive the pain of rejection that was sure to come. In his letters rhyming was the only buffer he had allowed himself, sort of like a security blanket of sorts. It allowed for the possibility that no one would really be able to decipher the meaning behind his words and, therefore, hold it against him.

The only letter not written in poetry was Iruka's. The man had stayed with him through most of the tiring trials he had been through, and had never lifted a finger to in any way to harm him. He had been such a burden to the kindly man that he felt he, at the very least, disserved a straightforward answer. Not only that, but he felt Iruka would be the least likely to laugh at him or scorn him for what he had to say.

As he closed the heavy door of Tsunade's office behind him, Naruto gave a small smile to Shizune who sat at a desk just outside the Hokage's office. She returned the gesture before turning back to what looked like paperwork. Naruto's smile turned soft as he thought about Tsunade and her dislike of all things paperwork. Poor Shizune had to do most of it.

TonTon lay sleeping just at her feet, and when the small pig heard the click of the door close, it raised its head and fixed its small eyes on Naruto, before turning away, almost coldly, returning to its slumber. Naruto paused for a moment at the small dismissal, listening to the echo the closed door made that ricocheted down the hallway, before he turned the corner and hurried down a flight of stairs.

Ninja and civilians alike passed him in the halls, but few of them acknowledged his presence and those that did had a look of unconcealed disgust in their eyes. Hurrying down another few flights of stairs, he was soon out of the building and moving through the small afternoon foot traffic. The pleasant, fading sunshine warmed his face and hands, which tingled at the offered warmth. He had not realized he was so cold. Shoving his hands into his thin jacket pockets his fingers brushed against the remaining four envelopes. They crinkled slightly in complaint and he quickly withdrew his hand, hoping to keep them pristine and clean. The sound reminded him of the task he had left to do, and heaving a great sigh, he scuffed along the dusty, nearly empty roads and headed back towards his apartment.

Most people had already gotten off of work and were safe within the confines of their homes so there were only a few stragglers about picking up last minute necessities. All of them were bundled against the rising cold, and rushed past him without a glance, in a hurry to get to their destinations and the people that awaited them there.

With his head bowed against the sporadic gusts of wind, Naruto decided he would finish packing first and then deliver his letters before heading towards the gates. Once he was out of the village walls his words would be found and read. He couldn't help but wonder if they would hold any meaning to the receivers, or whether they would just be stuffed into a drawer to be forgotten, collecting dust with time and age.

As he hurried through the streets he pondered on Tsunade's letter. He had written many drafts of all the letters long before he had actually decided to come to Tsunade about leaving, so he knew them practically by heart. He'd sat up late into the night after missions trying to write what he could not express aloud beneath the dim, flickering light of his desk lamp, remembering all the things he could about each person before finding the words that went with them. Tsunade's was especially easy to memorize, because it was only a few lines.

**Mother who watched over me.**

**Sister to guide me through.**

**Friend who could only see,**

**The better side of truth.**

**Eyes that held no contempt, **

**Heart still so full.**

**Strong enough to calm the storm,**

**But never to be cruel.**

**Justice at its highest,**

**Alchohol, blood and booze.**

**Hiding from the past,**

**But the future you never loose.**

**A gift, a wish, a simple hope,**

**Something to give you back.**

**My pockets may be empty,**

**But I hope you can look past the things I lacked.**

It was simple, and it didn't have a very good rhyming pattern, but it had been hard for him to write about his true feelings. To put it simply, it terrified him. For as long as he could remember, he had always hidden his thoughts and observations from people and soon it had turned into a habit. It just felt wrong to display them now for anyone to read after years of keeping them to himself. He had never before actually told a person that he cared for them or loved them because he had been afraid and no one had ever said such a thing to him, either. He knew that Tsunade cared for him, too, but now that he was leaving he did not want such things to hang over her. She would just feel responsible in some way and she needed to be a strong ruler. Past regrets would do her no good.

As he repeated the poem a few more times within his mind, he continued through the village, and soon reached the slums. As soon as the tall apartment building came into view, Naruto quickly crossed the wide road and hurried through the torn screen door that led into the stairwell. It was dangerous to be out on the streets at this time. Bad people liked to roam about searching for victims to impose their drugs, violence, or sex upon when it got dark.

He ran up four flights of stairs, skipping a couple steps in his haste and making sure to jump over the few missing floor boards on the third landing, before walking down a long corridor and stopping in front of a dingy white door. The paint was peeling in some places and there was graffiti and hateful words carved into the wood, but after so long Naruto no longer noticed it, not even turning to look at the new additions.

He shoved his key into the lock and jiggled the handle exactly three times before there was an audible click, and the door swung inward. Naruto stepped through the doorway and closed the door quietly behind him, turning the lock and sliding the dead bolt home. Not bothering to take his sandals off he stepped further into the small one room apartment, the wooden floorboards groaning familiarly beneath his feet, and looked about him.

The walls were a shabby beige color and in some corners there were spider web cracks that had been there long before he had moved in. The flooring was wooden and bare, and many of the floorboards were prone to squeaking, which sort of made Naruto feel safe. No one with bad intentions would be able to sneak up on him in the night. Not that he really slept much anyway, but all the same, it was a comforting thought.

An old mattress that was pushed into the far right hand corner of the room was bare and stained with a black comforter crumpled on top of it, worn thin from years of use. The rather large but dirty window was placed in the center of the same wall where a small, green potted plant sat in the dying rays of the sun.

The overhead lighting was poor, so most of the time Naruto just kept the lights off. He could basically see in the dark anyway. Despite this, the large window let in a lot of afternoon sunlight. Still standing by the front door, Naruto could see the sunset through said window as it sunk below the tree line. It cast a ruby glow on the otherwise bland room.

A heavy, beat up oak dresser sat against the opposite wall alone, and on the far wall in front of him was his matching desk and crappy lamp. The new tenants were probably going to end up throwing it away, because it barely gave off any light. Leaning against the off white wall beside the sad excuse for a bed was his traveling pack, the worn canvas torn and patched in a couple places. It was already full of all the clothes he owned, which wasn't much. On the floor beside the bag lay a few of the odds and ends he planned to take with him. Everything that wasn't suitable for his departure, he had already thrown away.

Naruto quickly spanned the short distance to the mattress, prepared to sort through the miscellaneous belongings, his floor cold and bare beneath his sandaled feet. His apartment, quite frankly, looked unlived in, the same as it always had. Naruto had never had enough money left over for personal luxuries so everything within it had been of necessity.

Scanning through the few things left to him Naruto swept all of it up into his arms and dumped it on the mattress beside his bag. Carefully, almost reverently, he picked up each item and placed it neatly within his pack as if it would break with the barest of touches. First to go in was his extra kunai and shuriken, all of them sharpened and clean. They gleamed darkly within their canvas pouch and jingled slightly as he placed them on top of a black mesh, ninja-issue shirt. Next, were two worn notebooks full of some of his observations dating all the way back to when he had been six, most of the earliest ones being written in Chinese. Buying a regular supply of paper and ink had been expensive on his meager wages so he had learned to use it only when he felt he could no longer keep the words in, but in the end he had compiled some of his better entries into those two volumes. After that he neatly placed his headband and the picture of team 7 into the front compartment of the bag along with the blue crystal necklace he had won from Tsunade the first time they had met. It sparkled slightly before he zipped the little compartment up.

They were more or less sentimental items, but they barely weighed anything so he figured he could bring them all along. One of the final items he packed was the ragged Chinese to Japanese dictionary he had used and memorized during his early academy days. Japanese had not been his first language and by the time he was able to fully understand the odd language that the academy students and teachers had been using, it was far too late for him to catch up with the rest of the class, so he had barely scrapped by trying to learn the newer lessons without any of the basics lessons he had not understood.

Back when he lived with the monks in the Shinobi temple, they had only spoken Chinese so that was the language he had been taught. He had also been taught basic lessons, the regular courses for children who were not training to become ninja, so the material had been completely different to that of the Ninja academy. He had excelled in his arithmetic and grammar lessons and had been starting on science when they kicked him out of the temple and sent him to the academy.

Setting the worn book in the back of the bag, he slowly zipped the zipper and swung the pack onto his shoulders. He was pleased to find that it wasn't heavy at all, glad that he would not have to sacrifice anything. Bending down he checked his wrappings and weapons holsters before deeming himself ready. Straightening, he once more scanned the room for anything he might have missed.

The dilapidated bookshelf on the far wall by the desk was empty except for the few beginning scrolls he had found at a pawn shop a couple years ago. He had already memorized them and did not need them any longer. The floor was clean of all clothing and other things and the mattress was still bare. The bathroom was completely empty, as well. Not even a shower curtain hung from the rod. Everything had been cleaned from the beaten up dresser and now the drawers were hollow and empty. There was only one thing he could think of that was left within the apartment.

Turning back to the mattress on the floor behind him, Naruto lifted the closest corner and reached with his right hand to pry free a loose floorboard just beneath it. The wood gave with a small groan, and he placed the plank to the side before groping into the space revealed. After a few seconds of fruitless searching, his fingers finally brushed past worn cloth and chilled metal and he pulled the treasure free. Replacing the floorboard he stood back up and turned for the door once more, finally moving towards it.

He placed his copy of the key on the kitchen counter, and as he reached the door and pulled it open, he looked down at the headband in his hands. The cloth was dark blue and there were a few holes in it but the metal still gleamed brightly in the dim lighting. Right through the Konoha symbol was a long gash appearing, for all intents and purposes, like a scar. He turned Sasuke's old headband in his hands, the metal warming slightly against his fingers, before he slipped it into the pocket containing his remaining letters. He planned to return it before he left.

Finally he was heading towards the large gates of Konohagakure, the only home he had ever known. The streets were empty, devoid of any kind of life except for the occasional lights that could be seen through the windows. His demonic sense of hearing picked up on the murmuring of many voices but he chose to ignore it as he usually did, so it was only white noise in the background.

Naruto had safely placed all the letters in good places where there was a chance the recipients would find them. Iruka's was tucked safely beneath his welcome mat right beside his spare key. As he'd stood outside his sensei's home he had heard the quite whisper of pages being turned, and he easily imagined Iruka with his shoulder length hair falling into his eyes, reading by the window, every once and awhile stopping to look out into the night. His eyes would be distant, searching perhaps for things not yet found.

_Dear Iruka,_

_ I am writing to you to say that it has been so nice knowing you. As a child, no one would talk to me, all of the other teachers only sparing me hateful words and glances, but you looked around the Kyuubi to see me in all my glory. I was annoying, brash, and much too loud, and I often wrote my assignments in a mix of Chinese and Japanese that was barely legible, but you always had a smile for me at the end of the day. _

_Before you no one had ever before smiled at me. No one had even touched me unless it was in violence. I will always be grateful to you for simply showing me what the kindness of another human being is like._

_Even now I cannot understand it. How were you able to look past the demon when it was the very reason for your parent's early deaths? What was it that compelled you to act so kindly towards me, when I deserved nothing _**but **_your hatred? I have been kept awake many nights just thinking about it, and I still have not come to a conclusion._

_I wanted to let you know that the Akatsuki are not far off, prowling on the horizon for more lives to destroy. I am leaving so that you will have a future where perhaps you won't be lonely anymore. Maybe you will find a companion who will read to you on nights when the stars are out like they are tonight. Every night before I try to sleep I wish that for you. I have been taught about many gods, and I have heard of many miracles, but I could never find it in me to pray nor believe in these gods that have shown the world nothing but blood and suffering. So I decided that if I wished for things hard enough that perhaps the universe would hear me. That perhaps my desire for your and many others happiness would come true. Leaving is just a small price to pay for what you rightfully deserve._

_Every time I look at those stars I will think of you and you're searching eyes. One day I am sure you will find what you are looking for. In the mean time, just know that you are as beautiful and strong as any star, and that when you are confident in yourself you are powerful enough to do whatever it is you may want._

_May we meet again,_

_Naruto_

Iruka with his kind heart and warm smile. He hoped that good things truly came to him in the future. He had learned about karma when he was being raised within the shinobi Temple, and if anyone had good karma coming to them it was Iruka. Naruto could tell the man was lonely, and he was always keenly aware that the Kyuubi had taken the lives of Iruka's parents. Now, as he walked alone through the streets, he felt guilt rush through him and had to stop to gain control of himself once more.

The next letter he had placed at the base of the memorial stone where all of Konoha's finest ninja's names were engraved in memoriam. The cool gray stone looked like a large spear head aimed at the sky and the engravings looked as if they had been seared onto the rock. In reflection, they probably had been with the use of a jutsu.

He knew that Kakashi visited the stone at least once a week to visit many of his old acquaintances. Naruto had always found it sad that almost all of Kakashi's friends were now dead or M.I.A. He had always liked to believe that perhaps he and Kakashi were on some level friends, but it looked like he was leaving him behind, as well.

Naruto didn't like to think of his sensei all alone with only the phantoms of his past to keep him company. He wished that when Kakashi joked about things in such a cheerful manner it would not be tainted by bitterness as it usually was. He hoped that his letter would not intrude upon his old sensei's quiet time.

Kakashi's name was penned neatly on the front of the envelope, and he was sure to see it on his next visit if it did not get blown away with the wind or rained upon. It was written in rhyme as well. Naruto easily recalled it as he passed by the turn off for the training grounds.

**Look beneath the underneath, **

**That's what you've always said.**

**Find the scars that run so deep**

**No one can find their thread.**

**I tried so hard to unravel yours,**

**Find the cards you had yet to play.**

**I worked to peer behind that mask,**

**And shoo your persistent ghosts away.**

**I find that I have failed in this,**

**As I usually do.**

**But I know what it's like,**

** To be left without a clue.**

**I may have lost this battle.**

**I've paid a hefty price.**

**Yet I have glimpsed beneath**

**another stare and,**

**A star I have found, **

**thanks to your advice.**

**The memory of its shine will guide me **

**Through the deepest night.**

**Even when the nightmares come**

**And blood runs out of sight.**

**Look beneath the underneath.**

**That's what you've always said.**

**But let my absence stay that way.**

**Let my memory lie dead.**

His footsteps echoed off the cold walls as he walked down the main street. All of the shops were dark and empty having been closed near to an hour ago. The signs swung lazily in a cool breeze that brushed past Naruto and swirled around his feet, kicking up dust as he walked. He turned his face into the refreshing wind, letting it whip his blonde hair out of his eyes. It was getting kind of long, probably due to the Kyuubi.

To the right and across the street he caught sight of 'Yamanka Flowers' painted in light purple on a white sign hanging in the store front, swaying slightly in the breeze. All the lights were off but there was a display of beautiful blue roses and white chrysanthemums in the front that looked iridescent in the dark of the street. That was where he had placed Sakura's letter. She was always over at Ino's, helping out with the flowers or arguing. He had placed it in a terra cotta pot of beautiful red tulips that were going to be picked soon. Her name was also penned neatly on the front of the envelope, and by now it probably smelled like flowers, too.

It did not rhyme as all the others did, because Sakura was as close to friendship as he had ever gotten, and if anyone was smart enough to understand his riddles then it would be Sakura, so there was really no point.

**The day will come soon,**

**When your happiness shall bloom**

**Into full flower.**

**I may be gone but, **

**My promise has been fulfilled.**

**Protect him for me.**

He chose to do Sakura's in haiku, because her name was of nature and when he thought of Sakura, he always thought of her as a force of nature, so it was befitting. He shifted his bag slightly on his back and continued on towards the gate. It was almost 7:00 now. Unlike his other sensei, Jariaya was usually never late so he was probably already there waiting for him. He quickly passed through the remainder of the market district and as he neared the tall gates that loomed up ahead in the distance, he could make out the shock of white hair that could only belong to the toad sage.

He continued on through the dark, and as he started to leave many of the buildings behind, trees started to line the street. Off to the left he could make out the faded red of the bridge between the branches of trees, where team 7 still met up for missions and what not. The water that flowed beneath the wooden arch gleamed weakly under the moonlight.

Sasuke's had been the last letter he delivered, and he had been unsure where to put it at first. It was by far the longest and he felt more trepidation over Sasuke reading it than he did about anyone else's. He was most likely to burn it without even reading it first, and if he did read it he might not like what Naruto had to say. Basically Naruto had written about his observations on the other boy, and how he had seen beyond the mask. Finally he had decided on leaving it within the Uchiha training grounds where he knew Sasuke trained almost every day when he was not training with him and Sakura. At least there he could destroy the letter if he wanted to in peace.

_Everything was dark and dusty, weeds decorating once elaborate lawns. He had walked through the deserted complex solemnly, afraid that his presence would upset the balance of things. Houses lined the streets that twisted and turned like a labyrinth, windows broken and dirty, the jagged glass shining in the light of the moon. Everything was bathed in silver and grey, and the quiet was like that of a graveyard. Only ghosts remained here. _

_He had quickly, almost gratefully, ascended to the trees once the pathway started to peter out, weeds clogging the trail that once led to the vast training grounds, rendering it almost invisible beneath the brush. He had been so focused on making sure that he was still following the proper path, that he hadn't noticed the clearing until he was almost in it. He also realized a bit late that it was occupied. Luckily he stopped himself just in time before his presence was revealed and watched in a mesmerized fashion as, just beyond the tree line, a blue light shimmered into being and chirped like a flock of fledgling birds._

_At first he had thought it was a ghost or something else just as ridiculous, but was relieved to recognize the strength in the shoulders and the gentle sway of hips as the shadow before him prepared the jutsu. The chakra restraining seals that had been placed on the other ninja's wrists had only been removed a couple of months ago and Naruto could just barely make out the scars that they had left on Sasuke's arms in the wane moonlight. The lightning jutsu cast a blue shade to his already pale skin, catching other faded scars in its glow, and his dark, ink black hair seemed to swallow the light completely. His left hand had been grasping his right wrist to steady the chakra infused hand and the muscles all along his bare back stood out in sharp relief from the slight strain. He stood there in the middle of the midnight meadow just letting the chakra vibrate through his arms, slowly gaining power. _

_Quietly Naruto had placed his final letter on the tree branch he occupied so that it leaned against the tree trunk. He made sure to weigh it down with Sasuke's headband, the metal facing the sky so it sparkled. There was no telling if Sasuke would ever find it, but it soothed Naruto to think that his words would rest so close to the other boy. Turning to look behind him once more, he committed the scene to memory before darting away. The chidori sparkled like a star. He would never forget._

**They say wish upon a star,**

**And there is one that shines so bright.**

**Everyone is drawn to it like **

**Moths to the light.**

**They are all held enthralled,**

**Yearning for its beauty,**

**But they can't seem to see that **

**It has suffered **

**at the hands of life's cruelty.**

**They are blind to the boy**

**That hides deep inside,**

**And he is unwilling to show them still so full of pride.**

**He has learned to cover up the scars,**

**Even those of the heart.**

**He has learned to drown his feelings out **

**Which is always the hardest part.**

**He struggled with his demons,**

**Had to find the will to leave.**

**Had to run away **

**and escape **

**the bonds we all come to weave.**

**But now he has returned**

**with a few lessons of life.**

**Each one was painfully earned.**

**Like a sharp bladed knife**

**It cut through his stupor,**

**Caused his steel walls to crumble.**

**Now he sits alone in his darkness **

**As they wait for him to stumble.**

**But he has worked so hard,**

**He has come home so strong,**

**He will not give them the satisfaction,**

**He will prove them wrong.**

**They say wish upon a star,**

**And there is one that shines so bright.**

**Everyone is drawn to it like**

**Moths to the light.**

**They've raised him on a pedestal,**

**They pushed him far away,**

**And he still hangs so distant **

**Even to this day.**

**How could I make a wish upon**

**Something that drifts so high?**

**I would never dull its shine **

**With my petty cries.**

**I was doomed from the beginning,**

**Never given a fighting chance.**

**Always hiding behind a smile,**

**Always the same song and dance.**

**But I did not leave out of anger.**

**It's just the clouds are never far away.**

**All I bring with me is danger,**

**Both our childhoods gone astray.**

**Try and remember all the colors, Sasuke,**

**Never let them fade.**

**But let me slip away,**

**Because I cannot stay.**

**I have learned when it is time to let go,**

**Learned to say goodbye.**

**It feels like that is all I have ever said to you,**

**But even now I had to try.**

**Smile, laugh**

**You're finally free of me at last.**

Finally Naruto reached the gates where Jaraiya stood, his large summoning scroll strapped across his back. The bridge faded into the gloom of the night behind him, as well as the training grounds, Ino's flowers, and all of Naruto's childhood memories, dreams, and nightmares. As he finally reached Jariaya's side he did not say anything, and neither did Jaraiya. The old sannin just looked at him briefly before turning on his wooden bath house shoes and started out of the gates and down the lane that led away from the village, his white hair a beacon in the dark. For a moment Naruto did not move, allowing Jaraiya to get ahead of him. This was it. As soon as he stepped through these gates he would probably never come back.

With a deep breath he stepped forward and over the threshold all the while willing him-self not to look back. It would only make this harder. Quickly he lengthened his stride and caught up to the perverted old man. It was time to let go and say goodbye.

TBC

AN: Hi, hope you've enjoyed it so far. There are more chapters to come. Look forward to 3 and 4 very soon!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Here's the next chapter! We jump perspectives a bit, but main perspective throughout the story is going to be Naruto's. Oh, and the customary "Naruto doesn't belong to me".

Oh, oh, also I small dash of KakaIru! I think they're so sweet!

Thank you to Akirakun17 and Yapook for your very encouraging reviews! I really appreciate it and hope you enjoy this next chapter. I'm also uploading chapter 4 right away, too. *Runs off to finish typing chapter 5*

Chapter 3: 10 years

When Uzumaki Naruto left Konohagakure Hatake Kakashi was forced to watch as yet another one of his students fell into depression. Yes Sasuke had returned from sound much less than okay, but then he had been empty, more on the hollow side than just plain sad. After Naruto disappeared Sasuke had not seemed to outwardly change, still appearing to all who did not know him (and if you asked Kakashi he would say that most of the village fell under this category despite their infatuation with the prodigy) as an apathetic teenager.

However Kakashi knew differently. He had trained and observed the Uchiha before and after his defection, and he could now feel the confusion and pain that emanated from the stoic boy within every one of his silences. And trust me, there were a lot of those. It was only a good two months after Naruto left that Kakashi realized Sasuke was in love with him even though Sasuke could not identify or confront his feelings for himself. He felt kind of stupid for not having realized it earlier. Even before Sasuke had joined Orochimaru, his goals, and what Kakashi supposed you could call dreams, had all been centered on his rivalry with Naruto. They were always together training or bickering, whichever came first, and pushing the other to the best of their abilities.

He could remember often waking up early while the team was on an overnight mission to find Sasuke had spanned the distance between his and Naruto's tatami mats, their faces so close together they were breathing the same air. Kakashi had written it off as being a somewhat brotherly bond between the two. God knows they both needed some sort of affection in their lives after being orphaned at such a young age (in Naruto's case, forever).

Kakashi would merely dress and leave the room quietly, wandering around whatever village they were in until the sun started to peek over the rooftops. Only then would he return to the inn to find Sasuke was up and awake sitting on his tatami mat far from Naruto's, sharpening his kunai almost obsessively. Naruto would always still be asleep wrapped snugly within his blankets, completely unaware.

Back then he had not looked too deeply into the boys' relationship. Kakashi knew that Sasuke would never consciously move in such a way on his own for he was an Uchiha after all, but somehow his body subconsciously knew where Naruto was and had to be as close as possible. As long as they worked well in missions (which they mostly did) he could care less. Even after Sasuke had received the curse mark he had told himself it was just Sasuke's need for physical contact. He was way too stubborn to ask for anything so he took it unknowingly. Only in sleep would he cross such distances. That was something Kakashi could relate to.

But then, after Sasuke had defected leaving Naruto to stray and falter, Kakashi had learned what it meant to love someone. Once he lost one of his students he realized how much Team 7 had come to mean to him, and it physically hurt him to watch Naruto suffer while trying to smile through it. He began to treat the remainder of his little group to ramen more often, working in his own subtle way to cheer up his precious pupils. He just wanted to see them happy or at least as much as possible for a ninja.

Inevitably, spending more time with the blonde shinobi-in-training had led him to Iruka. He had never expected for himself to live long enough to fall in love and least of all with a man, but Iruka was something special. Kakashi could still recall the first time he saw Iruka after Sasuke left. The chunin had been hugging Naruto right in the middle of a busy street completely ignoring the looks of disgust and scorn being thrown his way. The villagers still hated Naruto for the demon he carried, which was something that irritated Kakashi beyond belief, even infuriated him at times. Iruka's lean and tall frame stood bent over the smaller form of his student, almost completely blocking him from view as if he were trying to shield him from the hate that surrounded them. His soft, lilting voice that was so effective in calming the rambunctious kids of the academy was hushed as he worked to comfort a slowly dimming Naruto, telling him that things would work out and not to give up because Uzumakis never gave up. Naruto had given a short, humorless laugh and said that he was the _only _Uzumaki as far as he could tell. Iruka had only hugged him tighter and said he would have had it no other way.

In that moment Iruka's chocolate colored eyes had been so soft and full of emotion that Kakashi had almost uncharacteristically stumbled at the sight of them. His breath lodged somewhere deep inside his throat and he was unsure as to what it all could have meant. He had had no idea that it was the beginnings of a deep and meaningful love that would take a couple more years before it reached full realization. Even now, the memory of Iruka's gentle eyes stayed with him, more than 10 years later. He still could not understand his lover's ability to be so expressive. He supposed it was part of the appeal.

Only once he was fully able to understand the intricacies of loving another living, breathing thing did some of the pieces fall into place. But by then Sasuke had already been gone for 3 whole years, and Naruto was growing stronger and moving forward. He was still unsure as to whether or not Naruto had grieved for the loss of his friend and brother figure or if maybe he had felt something more as well.

Either way, Kakashi had been hoping to patch things up between his students once Sasuke finally returned to the village, but then Naruto had been the next to abandon them. In all his years, Kakashi had prided himself on his foresight, but never did he expect Naruto to leave. Then again Naruto had always been able to surprise him, even when he was fresh out of the academy. He was not the number one most surprising ninja in Konoha for nothing. But to be fair, Sasuke had been the one to leave first. As the saying goes, karma is a bitch.

Once they had been reduced once again to a three-man cell, Sasuke ended up retreating further into himself allowing silence to be the only expression of how he felt. He allowed his training to consume him, always trying to escape harsh memories and even harsher realities. He worked hard on missions, and slowly but surely Sasuke earned himself a good standing with the village council. He moved quickly up the ranks to gain the titles of chunin and jounin until he was finally promoted into the Anbu and then Anbu captain, which was a relatively rare position for someone with his history to achieve. His success rates were outstanding for his young age and his team, squad hawk, was frequently requested by the bordering nations. From there on out, Sasuke threw himself into his missions until he was barely back in the village more than a week before he was off again. Anything to try and forget, Kakashi thought to himself. Sasuke really did remind him of himself in his youth.

But what took place next really surprised Kakashi. Not three years after Naruto's departure Sasuke and Sakura got married. He hadn't seen that coming though he supposed he should have, as Sasuke had probably always planned to rebuild his clan sooner or later. Not long after the marriage Sakura gave birth to their daughter, Akane, who was looking more and more like Sasuke every day. She was so beautiful that even Kakashi couldn't resist giving her a genuine smile whenever he saw her. This didn't dissuade Kakashi though. He still held onto his belief that Sasuke's feelings went deeper than just camaraderie even though Naruto had been gone for a good 10 years.

Now that his charges had grown up and gained status in the village, Team 7 was officially disbanded. Kakashi was no longer in charge of them and was now without pay, thusly bringing him to reactivate his own anbu status. He would often see both of his former students in the mission room, reporting for duty or coming back from a mission. Despite the pregnancy, Sakura had continued to grow in skill and was now a well-known medic nin not that far off from Tsunade. With time she could probably surpass her. Funny how all three of his students had wandered off to train beneath the legendary sanin. If ever history were to repeat itself then this was a prime example. At any rate, Sakura was one of the best and was placed on Sasuke's squad after passing the jounin exam for herself. Of course the council didn't like the idea of a couple being on the same team. Emotional ties could prevent the mission from being completed, and blah blah blah. Of course, Tsunade paid them no heed in that aspect.

But old habits die hard when it came to Kakashi. He still liked to pop in on them whenever he could, and stop by the Uchiha residence. It was fun to play with Akane who was now seven years old, and if he was in the village, Sasuke was pretty fun to pester, too. After all this time, Kakashi would have thought Sasuke would have moved out of the old Uchiha complex, especially after the marriage, but he still stayed within his childhood home. It was something that Kakashi could sort of understand, but he imagined it must have been dreadful to live in the past like that. He couldn't really grasp the reason as to why Sasuke would willingly torture himself in such ways. At any rate, Sasuke might have spent a lot of time on missions, but he was a very good father. It was obvious he loved Akane.

While Sasuke was off on solo missions, Kakashi truly enjoyed talking with Sakura every now and then. She had always been the most talkative of their group, and had recently been talking of Akane and her enrollment into the academy. Having not even been 20 before she'd settled into the family life but Kakashi supposed he had not expected anything less of the pink kunoichi. She had always had such trivial matters on her mind, even when she was younger. Well, marriage seemed trivial to Kakashi but that was his own opinion.

With Sasuke, they never really had a conversation. The brunette always gave him the cold shoulder, probably thinking if he could ignore him for long enough he would go away, but it never worked in the past, so why would it now? Kakashi mainly went to see Sasuke just to check up on him, definitely not for the gossip, so it didn't faze him. Some days were worse for the broody tensai than others. Kakashi could tell even though Sasuke never spoke about it.

Another reason Kakashi came to visit him was because it was his last feeble attempt at remembering the blonde. Rest assured, they are nothing alike, but it was easier to remember him when Sasuke was in the room. When they were younger, their names had easily gone together. Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto and Sasuke. Even if most of their time was spent fighting, they were still always near each other, and Sasuke never really talked to anyone else. It had already been ten years and most had forgotten about him. His name had even become slightly taboo, something that no one could seem to utter even with fondness. That was, everyone except all of Rookie nine and Gai's team. They never spoke of him, but Kakashi could see his influence behind their eyes. It cheered him just a little to know that Naruto was still able to influence a few people even if he did not know it.

Presently, Kakashi was moving through the village, slowly making his way through the nearly empty streets. It was only 6:50 in the morning so he had kissed Iruka goodbye without waking him and left through the almost always open bedroom window. Their relationship was still on the down low only because the parents of Iruka's students might have a problem with it. It was never really a problem for Kakashi, though. He liked coming and going through windows. Doors had always seemed inconveniently placed to him, and you had to go through so many of them before you even reached the outside world. He was all for the quickest escape route, another habit he was unable to kill from his time as a young anbu warrior.

His feet carried him over the uneven and dusty roads of the village, sandals scraping along lazily. He was on his way to the Hokage Tower where his ex-student and self-appointed charge would arrive later in the day to give his oral report of how the mission had gone. He usually liked to give Sasuke some time to rest and sleep (At least as much as possible for the semi-insomniac.) before he popped up and annoyed the hell out of him. Wouldn't want to over-exert the poor raven more than he already had himself. But now he was back to the root of the problem. Kakashi was going to see Sasuke so soon after his returning from a mission, because he had had just about enough. At the rate Sasuke was going, he would burn out and probably get himself killed before another year passed by.

Just before departing on the most recent mission, Sasuke had sustained some rather serious injuries. He had gone home and allowed himself to be patched up by Sakura only to let three days pass before he rounded his team back up once more and headed off on another mission. Three days was most definitely not enough time to heal 2 broken ribs, and a dislocated shoulder substantially enough for combat. That seemingly had not stopped the Uchiha, though.

Kakashi would have been lying if he had said he was not worried. He just had really odd ways of showing it if he even ever did at all. But now was the time for action. If Sasuke allowed things to continue in this manner then he would end up really injuring himself, maybe even permanently. One slip up while in a fight against an opposing ninja and you could lose your life. Kakashi could tell that Sasuke was only eating the bare minimum and sleep was just about non-existent. Sakura had mentioned it multiple times in their conversations. She was worried for him, and her worry continued to grow with every passing day. He could remember what it was like running on only three to four hours of sleep and it was not pleasant. He would have given anything to get a good eight-hours rest just once during that time. Now that he had Iruka this wish had come true. He supposed the thing he had been made to give up was Naruto and the remainder of his team's happiness. How tragic.

But he was getting off topic. Now was the time for intervention. Sakura, Neji, Kiba, and Ino, all part of squad hawk, had tried unsuccessfully to convince their captain to change his ways. Now it was up to him to figure something out. He was not beyond just tying him down to his bed for a good two weeks. The only problem was in finding something strong enough to hold him. Just because he was malnourished didn't mean he wasn't strong. He trained way too damn hard for that.

Taking a right down the main fanfare, Kakashi barely saw his surroundings as he thought of all the possible materials he could use for restraints. Maybe handcuffs would work. What were they made of, steel? But then again Sasuke would tear his bed frame apart out of anger. Then he would be a dead man.

The sun had just barely risen above the mismatched rooftops and was now shining directly into Kakashi's one visible eye. He continued on through the streets passing a young woman on her way to market. What was today? A Sunday, right? Yeah it was a Sunday, because Iruka had not gone to the academy yesterday. That meant the flea market was probably open. Not this early but it would be. Maybe he would go and see if there was anything that Iruka might like since their anniversary was coming up. He'd make sure to stop by once Sasuke had returned from his mission. Now all he had to do was wait. Kakashi thought he was pretty good at waiting.

Gods, his whole body was aching. His head was throbbing hatefully, those few injured ribs were starting to act up, and for fucks sake, could the sun get any hotter! Maybe heading back out on a mission so soon after getting injured had not been such a good idea. He could also tell that the last few missions had really worn his team down a little and he almost felt a flicker of regret at dragging them down with him. Out of a small amount of pity he slowed their pace a bit but only slightly.

At this rate they would reach the village walls within the hour where Sasuke was sure he was going to get it from Kakashi. It was not like he was purposely going on 5 to 6 missions a month. He really did try to allow at least two weeks at most between missions but halfway through the first week he would get a little anxious and sometimes it was hard to stay still for so long. By the end of the week, he would be just about ready to scream. Of course he never did even if no one would hear him. It was all about the principle of the matter. At any rate he could only get through about a week before he was on his last nerve. Thank the lord Hinata was willing to watch Akane while he and Sakura were out of the village. Hinata's son, Taka, was also a pretty good kid, and Akane seemed to like him well enough so things worked out. In the past he had done a lot of solo missions so he could let his team rest, but recently Tsunade was always denying him the ability to do so and would never give him an explanation. It really pissed him off.

Another reason he could not stay in the village very long was because he was haunted. Haunted by memories and especially haunted by a boy he was afraid to forget. When he was alone, all he could seem to do was dwell on the past and the many mistakes he had made. He was always thinking if only he hadn't of left, or maybe if he had smiled more, but these thoughts always ran in circles and freaked him out. He would eventually resort to training like mad to release all the pent up frustration and pain, but it only served to add to his fatigue. He would tell himself he just needed a distraction and would go back to doing too many missions. Sometimes he would even just hold Akane while she was asleep to help calm him down.

He had even tried picking up a hobby and had gone through a few before he settled on drawing. With his sharingan it was easy to remember details so he had made it a habit to draw out certain scenes from the previous mission before actually writing the official report. He often drew many of his fonder memories and most of his reoccurring nightmares. Sasuke had a whole box full of drawings from when he had been in sound. He also had a box full of Akane and some of Sakura and Ino together. He had several of a certain blonde haired boy. Even after ten years he could only imagine him at the age he had last seen him, forever 15. He knew that with ten years gone by, he would most definitely be different but that did not lessen the immense need for him that the Uchiha felt. He was just now admitting to himself that he might actually need someone other than the friendship of Sakura or the companionship of his daughter, but he had no way of defining this feeling. Perhaps it was just losing another precious person, a friend, after already losing so many that had him all riled up. Not unusually, he wondered where the Kyuubi vessel could be and whether or not he was under the same sky as himself, seeing the same sun or the same clouds. Maybe it was nighttime wherever he was. Maybe he was dead.

Sasuke recoiled at that last thought and almost missed the next tree branch, but caught himself in time. _What the bloody fuck! Don't just phase out like that! Your mission is not over quite yet. Not until you are safe within the village you moron! _He chastised himself. He really could not afford to think of such things while still out of the village. As a captain, he needed to be on guard at all times. Besides, ten years was a long time to remember someone who could be….well….never coming back. That was a good way to put it.

With an indiscrete huff through his nose, he went back to thinking of his newest time waster, as he liked to call it. Drawing really wasn't all that bad. He mostly used colored pencils and watercolor. It had taken him a while to get used to both media, but he was getting kind of efficient if not good at it. The materials needed to maintain his past time where expensive but what else was he going to use the money from all of these missions on, anyway? He was not even sure what types of things people usually bought that were not necessities. He knew girls liked clothes and things but he just replaced whatever he grew out of or destroyed, and as for Akane he just left all of the buying up to Sakura. He did love his daughter, but he wouldn't have the first clue as to what to buy her himself. He also occasionally bought knew weapons such as new kunai and shurikan kits, and sometimes he even had the blade on his katana refurbished but that was rather rare. He supposed he was kind of rich, which was a funny thought considering he had already inherited a shit load of money after the massacre, though he refused to actually use it.

Well in the end he really did enjoy working on his art projects. Though some of the pictures were rather dark and expressed his deepest secrets, he still treasured them. He knew that it was dangerous to keep some of the finished pieces around because of the things they revealed. He was still kind of paranoid, but no one ever came to visit him within his home other than Kakashi, Ino, and Sakura's other friends, so he thought he was pretty safe on that front. Besides, spending money on _art supplies _was definitely a lesser evil compared to some of the things people bought. But in the end this new hobby did not get rid of his problems so easily, so he always reverted back to assassinating evil villains and going on recon. How delightful.

Landing on a thick tree branch, he spotted a clearing off to the left and decided he could allow time for a small break. They were maybe ten minutes from the village now, but what the hell. At any rate, though he hated to admit it, he felt his fatigue slowly catching up with him now that the momentary diversion of the mission was nearing to a close. Either way, he was in no rush to return to the village.

With a simple hand signal he diverted their path and jumped from the shade of the tree branches and into the bright meadow. The grass was tall, reaching upwards to brush against his clothed knees, and without the disruption of tree roots, small weedy looking flowers grew amongst the sea of green. Dandelions, he believed they were called. What a whimsical name. The sun shone down hotly on the small group and made them squint their eyes against the sudden glare.

Stopping near the still present shade, Sasuke turned to his subordinates and removed the raven mask from his face. It was against protocol, but it was too bloody hot for such a trivial matter. Besides, they had already finished the bulk of the mission anyway.

"Captain?" The question came from an eagle mask that was soon lifted to reveal Neji. His face was flushed in the heat but his pale eyes remained sharp and questioning. A few long, dark strands had escaped from his high ponytail and wafted around his face in the warm breeze. One by one Kiba, Ino, and Sakura removed their masks as well and looked to Sasuke curiously. They were all tired and grateful for the momentary pause but it was an unusual occurrence with their captain.

Sasuke just gazed back coolly. The only indication of fatigue and heat on his face resulted in the weary shadows under his eyes and the faint flush on his cheeks. Otherwise he looked commanding and authoritative as per usual. "We will rest for a bit here before continuing on. You all look like you're about to keel over, and it's partially my fault, so sit and recover." His voice sounded uncaring but each of his team members had known Sasuke long enough to understand his subtle apology and slight worry.

There was a chorus of "Hai!" before four of the anbu practically collapsed under the shade of a large oak. Sasuke just leaned against the rough bark of an adjacent tree and cataloged the moment away in his mind for a future drawing. Neji and Sakura had their backs pressed against the wide trunk of the tree while Ino and Kiba were sprawled at their feet in the cooler grass. He traced the outlines of his teammates bodies, appreciating the flow of both Ino's and Neji's long hair, trying to memorize every line and shadow of the peaceful image. He was thinking on what colors he would have to mix to get the purple shadows in Sakura's hair just right when Kiba spoke up from his position on the forest floor.

"Doing missions in the middle of a Fire Country summer should be banned." Kiba's voice was loud and easily carried over to Sasuke through the stagnant air, efficiently breaking into his train of thought.

"Like that will happen, dog breath." Ino snorted. "People won't just stop needing ninjas because it's hot outside." She rolled her eyes and shifted slightly, causing the grass to rustle.

"Damnit Ino, I know that! I was just saying it would be nice." Kiba retorted. As an afterthought he added," and don't call me dog breath!"

"Well I wouldn't if you didn't always smell like dog!'

"I have very good hygiene thank you very much. And Akumaru doesn't stink either. The whole reason I didn't bring him with us this time was so he could go to the doggy spa!"

"Who takes their dogs to a spa! ", Ino exclaimed.

Both Neji and Sakura watched silently as the bickering continued, amusement apparent on their faces.

_Gods, some things never change. _Sasuke thought to himself, but he made no move to stop their silly quarrelling. In fact he kind of liked it. It soothed his nerves a bit and reminded him of happier times.

Suddenly he picked up on a weak chakra signature just outside the village. It seemed odd to him, as if the flow was badly distributed, but he couldn't be quite sure from so far away. His sharingan had limits as to distance. Perking up from his resting position against the tree, he turned to address his team.

"I detect a minor disturbance near the East wall. It can't be but 15 minutes away. Neji if you would accompany me to check it out." Sasuke turned to address the Hyuuga, who nodded an affirmative. "As for the rest of you, you are all dismissed and can head back to the village. Clean up, get something to eat then report to the Hokage for the official debriefing in about 90 minutes or so."

Everyone nodded in assent and stood, Neji pulling his eagle mask back on as he took his position by Sasuke.

"No fair." Kiba grumbled. "You always get to have more fun."

Sasuke sighed in an uncharacteristic display of emotion, and, minutely shaking his head, turned to the dog boy. "Listen, not but two minutes ago you were complaining of the heat, so maybe it would be best if you go back and get some rest before we report to Tsunade-sama."

Kiba sighed but nodded and wandered off with Ino at a walking pace, both of them already engaged in another argument. Turning to Sakura who still stood nearby, Sasuke motioned her over.

"Hey, when you get back can you pick Akane up from Hinata's? I promise I won't be gone long. Kakashi is probably waiting to tear me a new one anyway." Sakura stifled a giggle, but nodded and gave Sasuke's hand a reassuring squeeze before running to catch up with Ino.

"You guys certainly are all lovey dovey." Neji commented. Sasuke just turned to him and smirked before pulling on his wolf mask.

"You don't know the half of it." Then he was darting off through the trees, toward the source of the chakra, a new distraction to get lost in.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Yay, chapter 4!

Chapter 4: Return

Trees rushed past him in an endless blur as he quickly navigated through the branches trying his best to avoid running into one as he continued pushing through the vegetation. With every breath he took a shattering wave of pain danced through his body and made it harder for him to concentrate on the task at hand, but he forced himself to keep moving through sheer will alone. He had to tell Tsunade of his discovery as soon as possible. He knew he should have come with the information as soon as he'd found out, but he had been hesitant to set foot anywhere near here. His presence could only mean danger to the village, and he had not spent the last ten years of his life trying to prevent that just to come back now and ruin everything. But now this knowledge was too important to continue ignoring it as he had been. It could possibly even mean the destruction of Konohagakure if they were not aware, and he wasn't prepared to just stand by and watch that happen if there was something he could do about it.

Struggling to keep his train of thought and focus on where he was going, he did not notice the abrupt halt of trees as he broke through the tree line and ended up jumping into open space. Falling through the air, he belatedly realized his error and twisted his body at the last minute to accommodate his landing, trying desperately to locate the forest floor through his disorientation. He just barely managed to land on his feet before he fell to his knees, pain scoring through his veins and dimming his vision until he could see nothing through the haze of it. Working to breathe through the heavy nausea it caused, he pushed the dizziness back and took better stock of his surroundings.

Behind him lay the dense fire country woodlands, spanning miles and miles until it reached the bordering lands and became rockier, eventually transforming into Suna desserts if one went far enough. Beneath his bare bandaged feet he could feel the soft green grass between his toes, leaves and twigs snapping as he shifted his weight to ease some of the pain in his back and legs. The break in trees had obviously been unexpected, but as he fully processed the sight in front of him he realized the necessity of it, something he possibly would have realized sooner if he had been in better health. Approximately 50 yards in front of him the slate grey bricks of the village wall rose high above his head, a sign that he was almost to his destination and could relay the information he had come to share. Just a little bit further and then he could lie down for a bit.

Struggling back to his feet once more, he stumbled over to the tall barrier before leaning heavily against it, all the while trailing blood as he went. The hot midday sun was burning high in the sky, and he felt a trickle of sweat slip down his neck and over his collar bone. He was positively burning up inside the heavy black material of his cloak, but he refused to take it off for fear of being recognized by any of the villagers. It was best if he just get into the village, tell Tsunade what he came to say, and then get back out again without causing any disturbances. Or getting the shit beat out of him. He wasn't really in prime shape to defend himself, much less fight back. Not that he would anyway, but still, it was the principal of the matter.

Sliding slowly down to his knees once more, he braced a hand against the cool stones of the wall and turned his head to the right, hacking up blood into the grass. The contrast of bright red against the green was startling and caused the ache between his eyebrows to become more palpable. Jerking back from the onslaught of discomfort he averted his gaze back to the calm grey of the village wall, and struggled to keep from falling over into the grass. His bloody hand slipped and smeared across the rough masonry leaving behind a rusty trail, but he managed to keep his balance without causing too much pain. He took a moment to regain his breathing as best he could and take stock of himself.

He could feel the ragged edges of the large gash on his back burn as sweat continued to mingle with the wound, blood pouring down and around his sides to seep through his layers of clothing. His double sword hilt rested along the outside of his clothing but beneath the heavy cloak, and the weight of it pressed against the injury and aggravated it with every step he took. There was also an older wound on his upper thigh that had reopened during his hurried traveling, and that too bled, warm streams dripping behind his knees and onto the ground. He did not think that anything was broken except for perhaps a couple ribs, and everything else was minor, like scrapes and bruises if he didn't count the chakra burns on his arms. He shuddered thinking exactly on why they were there.

The injuries themselves were pretty bad, but that wasn't what was slowly killing him. Sure he could probably bleed to death here on the forest floor if he waited long enough, but the poison in his veins would get to him first. It was what was really causing him so much pain. Damn Sasori and his freaky puppet army.

At the thought of the poison that was infecting his system, the fox demon inside him thrashed against the restraints of its cage further forcing its demonic chakra through his veins in an attempt to heal him, but it did no good. It only served to make the seal on his right shoulder blade burn as if it were being branded into his skin all over again. The burning sensation continued outward from the seal and radiated down both his arms, the searing pain causing the bleeding to pick up speed and seep through the once pristine bandages that wrapped around both his arms from the tops of his biceps all the way down to his wrists. This time his cries were more like screams of agony as the intricate chakra burns were reopened, and as he slowly recovered from the terrible pain he cursed the demon nine ways to hell under his breath, to which the demon responded by sending another surge of chakra through his system. He could feel his eyes flicker from blue to red and back again, each time causing his pupils to dilate into slits and sharpen his already excellent vision, which in turn made his head ache even more as he sight went from normal to abnormal repeatedly.

Piecing his resolve back together, he clambered back to his feet and, using the wall as a support, continued moving onward. Just a little bit farther and then he could rest. He just had to get into the village and to Tsunade so he could tell her about what was going on. It would have been a wasted trip otherwise. He decided to follow the wall to the left, hoping that his memory and calculations were correct, and the main gate was located not too far off. He knew there would be guards at the entrance, and he wasn't sure yet how he was going to get past them, but right know he was just hoping to make it to the gate at all.

Trying his best to keep from thinking of the pain, he pushed himself heavily onward, his pace slow but steady. Every step was an agony unto itself, but he thought of the damage that could be dealt to the village and its civilians if he failed in his mission, chastising himself for thinking of himself when there were more important matters at hand. Slowly but surely he walked about the perimeter of the village, following the wall as it was the only thing that kept him from falling over. Just as he was starting to recognize some of the foliage from many years past he caught sight of a small lone cherry blossom tree that was almost in full bloom and whimpered pitifully in the back of his throat. It reminded him all too much of the last time he had come back to the village seven years earlier. He had come back for Sasuke's and Sakura's wedding.

The ceremony had been a beautiful one, he not expecting anything less of the Uchiha heir. Cherry blossom petals had been everywhere, coating the ground and any available surface as they swirled and drifted down from the tree branches, their sent permeating throughout the whole village. Sakura had looked stunning in a long mint green kimono and deep cerulean obi, her features older and more matured since the last time he had seen her three years prior. Of course he had found Sasuke far better looking in comparison, swathed in the fabric of his deep blue yukata with the Uchiha fan embroidered on the back, his eyes sharp and full of light where once there had been none, but that was neither here nor there. It had none the less been a sight for hungry eyes.

He and Jariaya had stayed far back and out of sight, watching from a distance as they exchanged their vows and the crowd cheered gleefully. Almost the entire village was present; each of them happy to finally see the last of the great Uchiha clan getting married. From where he and Jariaya had stood, both of his former teammates had looked so happy, both of them flushed, their eyes dancing with excitement. He was happy for them, too. Sakura was finally getting what she had always dreamed of, and it appeared that Sasuke was finally in a good place. That was all he had ever hoped for.

As the memory slowly faded away he felt a now familiar hollow feeling amongst all of the pain, and lurched to a stop right alongside the pink tree, falling to his knees for the third time. Perhaps this was how it felt to be completely worthless. His purpose and reason to live and been seen through, and now he was no longer needed. There was nothing else he wished to see accomplished, and sometimes he truly couldn't find a reason to keep living. The only thing left to him was the demon and the duty to keep it from Akatsuki, but recently he had been feeling so tired, as if he had not slept for years. What if he just died? No one would mourn or grieve his death. He could just slip away quietly into the nothing. Then no one would get the demon, and he could finally get some rest.

Drawing in a shuddering breath, he shook himself from his thoughts and thought of how much further he had left to go. He tried desperately to get his legs to support him once again, but they would not listen, and he slowly began to realize that he might not make it. Due to the seal that had been forcibly placed on him, his chakra reserves were already abnormally low, and now they were almost completely drained do to all the energy he had expended by running to get here from rain country. To add to it, the seal also prevented him from accessing any of the Kyuubi's chakra and without it he wasn't healing as he normally would have. He had been continuously bleeding for far too long and the poison was definitely not helping anything. Damn it and he had been so close, too.

He could taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth and could even smell the cloying stench of it. It made his stomach flip-flop uncomfortably. It was as if he were being burned from the inside out, every inch of his body feeling as if it were flayed open. It was unpleasant to say the least.

Through the overwhelming sensations he vaguely felt two approaching chakra signatures, and tried to get his muddled mind to process whether they were a danger or not. Slowly, he unraveled the energy so that he could read the signals properly, the task causing his head to explode in a new agony with the mental effort. Using the last bit of chakra left to him, he successfully deciphered the signatures as belonging to Konoha nin. He continued to read through the information present hoping to sense whether or not he should be worried when he realized who both the chakra signatures belonged to. He felt a shock jolt through his system at the revelation. It built up in his stomach, butterflies slamming against his insides and causing another pained cry to fall from his lips.

Bloody hell he was literally burning up! What the hell kind of poison had Sasori used this time! He tried desperately to calm himself and regain control, but all he could think about was that, here he was dying and out of everyone in the village these were the two people to come along and watch it happen.

Finally, he could feel both anbu as they jumped from their positions in the trees and stop before him where he kneeled slumped against the wall. The anbu to the right of him exuded a familiar cool and commanding chakra that washed over his heated and broken body, surprisingly easing some of the pain if only slightly. He found that rather cliché given the circumstances and would have laughed if he had been able to, but what the hell. He would take any relief he could get. Before he could lift his head from against the cool wall pressing against his side, the ninja spoke.

"State your name, village, and purpose."

That voice. God, it had been so long since he had heard that voice. It was the same if only a bit deeper and it made his bones tingle. It was a really weird sensation that thrilled and worried him. Maybe the poison was frying his brain.

Finally finding the strength to lift his head, he turned to see blood red and powder white eyes staring mercilessly at him from behind animal masks, waiting expectantly for his response. The rest of the anbus' faces were hidden behind a snarling wolfs mask and an eagle mask respectively. Long, dark hair flowed in straight lines along the sides of the eagle mask and from a crimson tie at the back of the anbu's head that shone brightly in the sun. Slowly he realized that they were probably waiting for him to reveal his own face seeing as the hood blocked their view. He watched as the anbu to the right slightly tilted his head waiting on him to respond. Black blue bangs fell across the bone white mask and into the wolf's crimson eyes.

He raised his trembling hands to the hem of his rough black hood, wincing as even that caused pain to course through him. Jerkily, he drew the material back allowing it to fall from his head completely. He felt his long hair free itself from the confines of the fabric and drop heavily past his shoulders in slight waves to sway in tangles around his waist. Hmm, he must have lost his last hair tie in the battle with Deidara. He fought him before Sasori right?

His bright blue eyes squinted in the glare of the sun and he let out grunt, his head shattering in pain from the stimulation. For a moment he was completely blind, unable to focus on the two familiar men before him. He listened as a hot wind rustled through the leaves and pushed a long strand of his blonde hair back from his face, brushing against his heated and scarred cheeks. He could feel more blood slip down his chin in wet rivulets. It slid hotly down his neck, and he imagined the red of it against his skin.

Carefully, he cleared his throat wetly and responded. "Uzumaki Naruto, former resident of Konohagakure, and I have some information Tsunade-sama needs to hear." His voice came out weak and hoarse and he wasn't sure that the anbu could really hear him, but regardless, he turned to the side and coughed up more blood. It burned as it came up his throat, and with every cough he could feel the demon push more chakra into his system where it seared through his veins and caused him more pain. Through the ringing in his ears he could hear the crunch of grass as one of the anbu moved forward and, expecting some sort of violence, he closed his eyes in preparation, when suddenly he felt cool fingers grasp his chin, tilting his head upwards and into the now jet black gaze above him. Okay, he hadn't been expecting that at all.

He felt the Kyuubi thrash against his cage once more, and furrowed his brow as his eyes dilated repeatedly, everything jumping into focus, chakra swirling visibly in blue and red rivulets about the man before him, and then dulling until the colors where no longer present. It made him light headed as his vision continued to change rapidly, unable to process exactly what he was seeing. Blindly he reached up to grasp a pale wrist in his burning hand as the world tilted and swayed about him. As things started to fade he uttered the only thing he could.

"Sas-ke."

As soon as he opened his eyes he was up and crouching on the thin mattress as if he were an animal about to pounce. Without any hesitation his eyes roved anxiously over the room trying to remember where he was and how he had gotten there. The first thing he realized was that it was really white. Everything was either a sterile color or grey. The next thing he noticed was that it was really quiet.

Was he in heaven? Wait did he even believe in a heaven? No. He didn't, and even if he did, he wouldn't think of himself as belonging in heaven. But he was dead wasn't he? Hadn't he had that hallucination of Sasuke and Neji coming along to watch him die? But wait. If he was dead then why did his body still hurt so much?

As Naruto realized there was no immediate danger he relaxed his posture and slumped against the cool, white wall behind him, trying to breathe around the pain that still permeated throughout him. Looking down the length of his body, he realized that his torso was basically completely wrapped in bandages, as were his arms, and he wasn't wearing a shirt. He still wore his dirty ragged black cargo pants, but his legs and feet were wrapped in clean bandages as well instead of the dirty ones he had been wearing before. His hair hung in long clean strands about his shoulders, and he cautiously picked up a clump that hung in his vision and took a whiff. It smelled clean, too.

Putting together all of this information, Naruto realized that he must be in the hospital or something. That meant he wasn't dead. Well, he guessed that was good. He still had information to tell Tsunade after all. Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he attempted to stand up and found that it was a little hard if not very painful. His head spun a little as he got completely to his feet, but he stubbornly remained standing. The clean white tiles were cold beneath his bare feet, but he quickly got used to it. His skin being hotter than a normal person's, it actually felt kind of refreshing. Carefully stretching and tensing his muscles in a quick physical check he found that they were stiff and very sore from the poison, but he felt nothing like he had earlier on. Wait what day was it? How long had he been asleep? Not only that but where was Tsunade? He still had to tell her of his findings. Glancing towards the window in the room, he saw a pink and orange sunset fading over the buildings as twilight settled in. Not much of an indicator as to the date, but it would have to do for now.

Tossing his hair behind his shoulders so that it hung down his back, he scanned the room in search of his missing clothing items, but couldn't find them. His fishnet and cloak where gone, but leaning against the wall beside the only door in the room was his double sword hilt with his short swords tucked into the leather thongs. They were a one of a kind pair, with curved blades, and intricate handles that protruded from the x formation of the hilt.

Moving quickly but stiffly across the room, Naruto scooped up the blades, and placed them carefully across his back, sweeping his hair out of the way before letting it fall back over the weapons, efficiently concealing the relatively small blades. Warily he opened the door, being sure to be as quite as possible, and glanced both ways down the hallway. It didn't look like the hospital; it looked more like the Hokage tower. That meant he was probably in one of Tsunade's private examining rooms. That also meant that he was closer to Tsunade's office, which was definitely good. Without his cloak, he didn't want to be walking around the village whether it was broad daylight or not.

Stepping out into the hallway, Naruto felt completely exposed, and as he quietly padded down the hallway to the right he worried that someone would walk around the corner at any moment and discover him sneaking about. Behind him to the left of the examining room he had been in the hallway ended in a dead end with a window mounted on the back wall overlooking a courtyard, so he continued to the right until he came to another hallway that branched to the right as well. Unsure of where he was, he decided to follow it hoping that Tsunade's office was on the same floor.

It continued like that for awhile, Naruto turning down whatever hallway came first hoping to find something that would point him in the right direction. Eventually he looked out a window and found that he was on the fifth floor. That meant that Tsunade's office was on the floor above him. Well that would have been useful information to have about an hour ago. Thankfully no one had come running after him or anything during that time. Turning right for maybe the third time in a row in hopes of finding a stairwell, he noticed a person sitting on the windowsill to his left and almost jumped out of his skin when he realized who it was.

Kakashi looked the same as ever, silver hair sticking up in a messy disarray, headband and mask still in place. His flack vest was unbuttoned and beneath it he wore a sleeveless black ninja shirt showing off his muscular and surprisingly unscarred arms. In his hands he held the same orange book that Naruto had seen so many times in his childhood, his former sensei's attention riveted on the text. It made something small and melancholy stir in his stomach before he squashed it beneath his slight annoyance and the pain in his body.

"Is it just me or are you always reading the exact same book?" Didn't he ever get tired of reading the same thing over and over again? Besides that, wasn't it one of Jariaya's porno books? That stuff was just pure drivel!

"Ah, Naruto. I was wondering when you were going to come along. Are you sure you should be out of bed so soon?" Kakashi drawled, sounding the same as ever, not once raising his eyes to look at Naruto.

"Jesus, some things never change." Naruto scoffed under his breath. "Care to show me to Tsunade's office since that is probably what she assigned you to do?" Couldn't he have come along and just escorted him? Why was everything so complicated with this man!

"Why, Naruto, have you gotten smarter while you were away?" This time Kakashi did look at him, his eyebrow raised in mirth. "I would be happy to show you the way." He stood from his seated position on the window, and placed a cool hand on Naruto's shoulder, smiling up at him with a warm grey eye. This time the small feeling of melancholy returned full force and Naruto smiled sadly back at his once sensei. This was going to be one hell of a day.

Wait a second, did Kakashi smile _up_ at him? Looking down at his sensei, Naruto couldn't help but be startled at the height difference. It was small, he was perhaps only a couple inches taller, but the last time he had checked he had been much shorter than most everyone his age in the village!

"My, my, Naruto it appears you had a bit of a growth spurt." Kakashi drawled, sarcasm and glee dripping from every syllable. He took a step back and fully examined his ex-student, making Naruto squirm in discomfort. "Hmm, how is it that all of my male students got taller than me?" Kakashi mumbled, shaking his head slowly.

"Holy Hell, I got big!" Naruto finally exclaimed fully realizing the change in him since leaving. Kakashi sweat dropped.

"Naruto, how could you not notice your own growth?"

Naruto thought back to the months that had easily spanned into years where he had gone completely without human contact as long as you didn't count Akatsuki attacks. It was hard to compare height differences while fending for your life. He thought of the trees, and the rivers, and the mountains and how they had always been so much bigger than him and always would be. He thought of the loneliness and silence that seemed to span such great distances that he could no longer see their beginning.

Choosing not to divulge such sad details, Naruto locked the sorrow away within him and forced a small grin onto his face. Scratching the back of his head in a show of nonchalance he replied, "I guess I didn't get as smart as you thought I did, sensei."

Kakashi appeared to frown beneath his mask, but before he could say anything more, Naruto turned and began to walk away.

"Come on sensei! Are you going to show me the way or not?" Sometimes Kakashi was too smart. That was probably why he and Sasuke had always been better together. Both had been young prodigies after all, and both had gone through terrible tragedies as well. He had just never factored into the equation.

"Naruto you're going the wrong way." Kakashi called after him, the amusement apparent in his voice. Naruto stopped for a moment and sighed inwardly before turning back around.

"Then show me the way!" He said in aggravation.

Kakashi chuckled before turning in the appropriate direction, nose buried back in his dirty book. Naruto just rolled his eyes and followed after him. Their progress was carried out in silence, Kakashi turning at all the appropriate times without once raising his eyes from the text before him. Naruto soon began to realize that he had been walking around in circles earlier, and felt the urge to hit him-self for being so dumb. Why was the Hokage Tower so big anyway!

Soon they arrived at the main stairwell located in the center of the building. Kakashi easily reached the top of the stairs, eyes still riveted on the text in front of him. Naruto got about ten steps up before he had to stop, his knuckles white from grasping the banister so hard. He had forgotten about the injured ribs, but he was definitely remembering now. His side burned in pain, and he found it hard to breathe much less scale the remaining stairs. Due to the fucking seal he was always in some sort of pain without the Kyuubi's recuperative powers.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Kakashi called down from the top of the stairs. Naruto straightened and eased his grip on the railing. "Yeah, I'm good." To make up for his slight stall and to persuade Kakashi of his health, he jogged up the remaining steps and ignored the burning. As he reached the next floor he began to recognize where he was and felt a spark of excitement dance through him. He was going to get to see Tsunade again.

Naruto picked up the pace and unconsciously took the lead as he remembered the way to Tsunade's office. As they neared the large ornate doors, Naruto heard what he thought to be Shizune speaking in a hurried manner and stopped just outside the slightly open entry to listen.

"…can't find him anywhere. He must have woken up, Hokage-sama." There was the sound of fabric rustling then "Woke up! How could that boy possibly have woken up and left his room with the injuries he had! It hasn't even been an entire day yet! I sent Kakashi down there not but an hour ago to watch him!"

Well that answered a few questions. Naruto threw a scathing glare towards his irresponsible sensei, who only shrugged in reply before returning to his book just as another voice piped up. "Hokage-sama, you know not to trust Kakashi-sensei with anything of importance." It said with a hint of sarcasm. Sasuke.

Naruto struggled with the emotions that rose at the thought of that name and forced them down, before turning back towards Kakashi.

"What the hell is wrong with you sensei? Why do you insist on making things more complicated than they have to be!"

"Oh come now Naruto, I make things more fun."

"More fun my ass." Naruto mumbled loudly before the door burst open. Tsunade stood there amber eyes glaring and hands on her hips. Basically she looked pissed.

"You. In. Now." She growled at Naruto. Behind her Naruto could just make out the backs of two anbu clad people and didn't have a hard time guessing who they were.

"Yeah, yeah, nice to see you too Tsunade-baba." He said before walking past her and into the room with Kakashi following close behind.

"Oh no, don't you dare call me that." Tsunade warned before closing the door behind her. "Not after the scare you gave me. Uchiha and Hyuuga brought you to me practically dead! What the hell happened and why isn't Jaraiya with you?" Tsunade moved to stand behind her desk, waiting for a reply.

"Aren't you supposed to keep their identities hidden while there in uniform?" Naruto asked, hoping to stall her.

"Shut it gaki. You know who they are anyway. Just answer the question?"

"That was actually two questions, Tsunade-baba. Perhaps you've grown senile while I was gone."

"Naruto," She hissed, "Don't fuck around."

Naruto sighed. He felt the melancholy rise within his stomach again. It had been so long. It felt as if the life he had once shared with all of these people stood somewhere far behind him and he would never again be able to reach it. The melancholy grew into sorrow at the thought. Resisting the unexpected urge to turn and look towards Sasuke, Naruto stared into the expectant amber eyes of Tsunade and answered honestly.

"I separated ways with him seven years ago." His voice was monotonous as he managed to keep it under tight control. After the wedding he had just been so tired. Tired of living, tired of fighting, and tired of putting everyone in danger.

"What!" Tsunade cried. She stormed around her desk and pushed herself into Naruto's face, her anger rolling off her in waves. "The only reason I let you walk out of my office ten years ago was, because I believed you would be safe with him." Her voice was lethally quiet. "And then you go and just decide to wander around on your own!" She slammed her fist into the wall just beside Naruto's head leaving a sizeable hole in it.

This, however, did nothing to deter Naruto.

"Safe!" he cried back. His stomach hurt and his head was pounding and he was angry. "No one is ever safe near me, not even someone as strong as Jariaya!" Mainly angry at himself. "I left him, because not even a day went by where I wasn't putting him in some kind of danger. After the wedding we got ambushed, and that was the final straw! Hidan almost cleaved him in half! I couldn't continue to risk his life like that!" Naruto felt the pain radiate down his arms as his anger continued, a sign that his chakra was trying to flare in his emotion despite the seal. Taking a couple deep breaths he worked to calm himself down before anything more could happen.

"You were at the wedding?" A soft voice asked from just behind him. Naruto knew exactly who it belonged to. Whirling around he saw Sakura standing in the doorway with a small child perched on her hip. It had been so long since he had last seen her that his heart skipped a beat with excitement and perhaps even a little bit of fear. She looked older, and stronger, and her hair was almost as long as his. Her emerald eyes were bright and sharp as they rested on him, but it was the child in her arms that held his attention.

The first thing that came to his mind was gorgeous. She was perhaps no older than six with ebony, long, curly hair. Her skin was so pale and soft looking and her lips were full and rosy. Naruto could feel her faint and unfamiliar chakra presence brush against his skin, and felt his eyes unconsciously dilate until they were narrow slits, no doubt very red. Her aura was a deep red with a hint of blue in it. A thin ribbon of green ran through the middle of it as if it were trying to keep it all together, most likely contributed by Sakura.

"She looks just like Sasuke." He whispered.

Seemingly unfazed by the way Naruto's eyes had changed, Sakura gave a small smile and replied. "Her name is Akane."

Naruto gave a smile in return. Akane was a perfect name for her.

"She'll definitely have the sharingan. I can see it." He said.

Sakura appeared confused but before she could say anything Tsunade was in front of him again, tilting his head down to get a better look at his transformed eyes. He was at least a couple heads taller than her. "Naruto what happened to your eyes?" She asked, her voice a lot calmer than it had been moments before. Instead it had been replaced with curiosity and a little bit of worry.

Naruto focused on her and saw ribbons and swirls of orange and yellow energy dancing before him. Blinking, he felt his eyes return to normal. He could also feel the three gazes of Kakashi, Sasuke, and Neji all on him, waiting for his reply. Shizune had long since scurried from the room.

Pulling his head from Tsunade's grasp he answered. "A lot has happened Tsunade-sama, but I came back only to deliver some information." Naruto felt himself close up as he fully realized that Sasuke and Sakura had obviously had a kid together. They were married and in love and had a beautiful little girl. Something sharp and tight struck him, but he chose to ignore it. The urge to look at Sasuke arose again, but he too ignored it knowing it would probably be unwelcome. He wouldn't be able to see anything except for the emotionless wolf mask anyway.

An annoyed expression crossed Tsunade's face. "Naruto, whatever you came to say can wai-"

"No. It can't." He interrupted softly. "It can't wait and no one is going to like it." He gave in to the relentless urge to look at Sasuke, looking around Tsunade to stare into those dark eyes for the first time in years. He felt a bit of fear and apprehension rise but pushed it down. It was now or never.

"Orochimaru is alive."

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Thank you so much for the reviews! Princess of Oblivion, very keen on questioning about Jariaya. Don't worry, He'll show up again soon! Caleebius, thank you so much, your review was very, very encouraging. I hope you keep reading and continue to review.

"WHAT!"

Before Naruto had a chance to explain further, he was slammed into the wall behind him. Pain exploded in his back as his skull cracked against the cold plaster. The hilt of his swords pressed harshly into his spine and subsequently bit into the bandaged gash. He could feel it as the still tentatively healing wound ripped back open from the force.

He supposed he should have seen this coming, but he had never really thought about the after, only of just getting the news out. It was such a relief to have the cantankerous words out of him, to no longer be harboring such a truth all on his own. Even if he had seen this outburst coming, he would have done nothing to dodge it anyway, so it was a moot point.

Gritting his teeth against the pained scream that wanted to escape him, Naruto struggled to breathe around the forearm that was crushing his airway. As he opened his eyes, he began to wish he hadn't for the poignant grief that ripped through him. The sharingan spun crazily just inches away from his face, but he ignored the danger it presented and took in the face they were set in. Sasuke looked almost the same except for the obvious maturity in his features. He looked just like his daughter. He was gorgeous.

"I killed him!" He growled. "I did it with my own blade, damn it, and here you are saying he's alive! I cut his fucking head off!"

Naruto could feel the words reverberate in his chest as Sasuke pressed further into him. He could hear his blood drip onto the hardwood floor, but he couldn't feel it as it trickled down his sides. His eyes burned with the demonic chakra and he watched in thrall as Sasuke's form dissolved into a twisting, churning mass of blue energy. It swirled and crackled about him like a lightning storm. Feeling his own chakra thrash violently deep inside him, Naruto gritted his teeth harder as his arms seared. This couldn't happen here. He couldn't do this here.

"I know." He rasped out. "I know you did." Panic was starting to bloom rapidly in his chest as he continued to feel his chakra stir inside him.

"Captain you must calm yourself. I would advise you to step back." Suddenly Neji was there grasping Sasuke by the shoulders as he pulled him from Naruto, who collapsed to the ground without the support that Sasuke had provided him. Blood was seeping through the thick bandages wrapped around his torso and dripping to the floor. Cursing, Naruto clenched his teeth and swept his hair over his right shoulder so he could remove his hilt.

"Sasuke, calm down!" Sakura demanded, still standing in the doorway. Akane was cuddled into her neck, shielding herself from the violence.

Tsunade rushed over to help Naruto stand. Pulling him towards the couch pushed off to the side of the room, she forced him to sit down. Throughout it all, Naruto remained silent. Inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief as the Kyuubi relaxed a fraction within him.

Sasuke was pacing on the far side of the room, where Neji appeared to be talking him out of his rage. He kept stride with the stalking raven, not once missing a beat.

"Naruto," Tsunade said as she hustled over to a cabinet behind her desk, "What do you mean he's alive? Sasuke brought back his-"Glancing over her shoulder, Tsunade looked warily at the child still snuggled into Sakura.

Trying his best to ignore the sting in his back, Naruto watched as Sakura realized the same thing, and set Akane down. This wasn't a conversation for young children. The ironic thing was that they had all been children when such events had taken place. He supposed not everyone won.

"Sweetheart, why don't you go find auntie Ino? She's waiting outside."

Naruto watched as the doll-like girl gave him a small shy glance before nodding. Sakura gave her a small smile, before tucking a dark lock of hair behind a porcelain ear. Setting the girl-child down, she shooed her from the room where Shizune stood waiting to walk her out.

Tsunade pulled some medical supplies from the cabinet, and continued. "He brought back his head. In a bag." She deadpanned.

"I know. At first I wasn't certain but-" Naruto hissed as Tsunade removed the bandages and dabbed at the wound with antiseptic. It stung like hell. Biting into his bottom lip, he closed his eyes tight. He wished the whole thing had just been a nightmare, that Orochimaru was dead like he should have been. Then he wouldn't have to face his past like this. He could be off fighting Akatsuki and pretending he wasn't afraid and lonely and tired.

"Sakura, run down to the supplies closet at the end of the hall, and get me some gauze." Tsunade swiped at the gash again, and Naruto sucked in another lung full of air.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Sakura rushed from the room.

"What do you mean you weren't sure!" Sasuke hissed.

" I wasn't sure," Naruto began in a strained voice, "but now I have proof if you don't believe me."

Sasuke rounded on Naruto, halting Neji in his steps. "OF COURSE I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" Sasuke roared.

"Uchiha calm yourself or I will have Neji remove you!" Tsunade yelled back.

"Hokage-sama," Neji spoke up, "If Uzumaki-san would permit it, I believe I have some pertinent knowledge to share with you." His bakyuugan was activated as he stared intently at Naruto, a restraining hand placed on Sasuke's wide shoulder.

"What is it Hyuuga?" Tsunade snapped as she attempted to stop the rapid bleeding.

Surprisingly, Neji's veined white eyes raised to look Naruto in the eye as if asking for approval. At first Naruto wasn't sure of what Neji knew, but then realization dawned on him. He nodded in assent. Unobtrusively Sakura hurried back into the room handing Tsunade the gauze before returning to her position near the door. Even Sasuke was still as he waited for Neji to explain, allowing the other man's hand to remain on his shoulder. Naruto ignored the jealously that twisted his stomach.

"I noticed an imbalance in his chakra when we first found him. As I'm sure all of you are aware, the demon fox has large amounts of chakra that Uzumaki-san holds within him and keeps at bay through the use of the seal that was placed on him at birth. Whenever Uzumaki-san is injured this demonic chakra is distributed through Uzumaki-san's chakra pathways to the sight of the injury and heals him.

When my captain and I came upon him he was severely hurt, but he was not healing. On further inspection I found that all of his chakra including the demons was being concentrated and stored within the seal located on his stomach. It is as if it is locked away, and if I am correct Uzumaki-san is unable to access it."

"What?" Tsunade exclaimed, pausing in her ministrations to turn wide eyes on Naruto. He kept his head bowed, long blonde strands of hair acting as a curtain.

"I also noticed," Neji continued. "that when faced with a threat such as Uchiha-sama presents, his chakra attempts to expand and break from its confinement but cannot. This could cause a backlash or an explosion of chakra if you will, which I believe Uzumaki-san is quite aware of. That is why I requested my captain step back from such a danger.

Naruto winced at that. He knew he was a danger. Maybe he shouldn't have come back at all.

"This backlash comes about when the red chakra, or what I would assume to be the demon's chakra, forces its way out of the confinement and attempts to heal its host's wounds. However, due to said confinement, the body rejects the chakra and forms those injuries on Uzumaki-san's arms."

"What injuries?" Sasuke whispered. His eyes were cold as they rested on the bandages wrapped around Naruto's arms. When Naruto didn't answer or even look up his voice went steely.

"He placed a seal on you didn't he?"

Naruto flinched as the words were said aloud. Finally looking up, he glanced upon all the faces in the room. Kakashi still stood near the window, orange book out, though he was no longer reading it. All eyes were on Naruto.

"Yes." Pulling his hair out of the way, Naruto displayed a thin red triangle that was outlined on the back of his neck.

"What?" Tsunade whispered this time, her hands completely still. Blood continued to ooze from Naruto's back. "For how long?"

Naruto averted his eyes. They had finally settled back into their natural blue color.

"Naruto." She growled warningly.

"A little more than a year."

"But Naruto-," Sakura began from across the room.

"You've been fighting the fucking Akatsuki with only taijutsu?" Tsunade roared grasping the full meaning of what had just been told to her. She slammed a fist down onto her desk leaving stress marks in its wake.

"How in the hell? What is wrong with you! Are you dense!"

Naruto gritted his teeth. "No, Tsunade-sama, I am not dense." Tsunade flinched at the polite suffix added to her name. "It was not safe for me to come here then, and it is not now. All I came to tell you was of Orochimaru's health. Now that you know, I'm leaving."

He rose from the couch only to have Sakura step forward and push him back down. Her green eyes flashed with anger.

"Naruto, you are not leaving. One, your injured and you're not even healing properly. Two, how the fuck are you going to defend yourself against the Akatsuki without chakra? Three, Orochimaru is out there lurking around, and I will not have you just leave again for another ten years!" Everyone blinked at Sakura's outburst except for Sasuke and Naruto, who had been on the receiving end of such outbursts often in their youth.

Naruto stood once again, standing tall and strong next to Sakura's deceivingly slim and petite build.

"One, I am human like everyone else. I will heal with time." He gave a glance toward Tsunade. "Two, I've been fighting the Akatsuki for years. I know how to protect myself. Three, Orochimaru will pay, and it will be by my hands." Naruto gritted out the last sentence, and refused to look anyone in the eye. He just stared angrily down at his feet.

For a moment Sakura's face went soft, but then her lips thinned and she yanked Naruto back into a sitting position with little to no effort.

"You stupid baka." She mumbled as she hurried to help Tsunade rewrap the bleeding wound on his back.

"Naruto you aren't going anywhere," Tsunade said. Naruto opened his mouth to argue but she interrupted him. "That is an order."

Naruto's eyes flashed red with anger, but he bit his tongue. Finally "Fine, I will stay at an inn then. I don't want to be a burden."

"Oh no you won't!" Tsunade spat. "You may have been gone for a long time, but I know you well. You'll just run off when you're left alone." She finished wrapping the last bandage as Sakura held down a swatch of gauze, securing it tighter than necessary. "No, I'll have to put you under surveillance." She said thoughtfully, already trying to think of competent enough ninjas to watch after him.

Naruto gave a scathing laugh. "Good luck with finding someone Tsunade." He said as all eyes turned to look at him, even Sasuke who had been staring at the wall. "No one will want to watch the demon child who's returned home. They'll likely try to kill me if and when they get the chance." His tone was light, but his stomach hurt.

Before Tsunade could respond Sakura spoke. "He'll stay with us."

Eyes going wide Naruto shot into a standing position, ignoring the dizziness that plagued him.

"What!" He whirled to face Tsunade. "I cannot. I will not!"

"Why not? It's a good idea, I think," Kakashi said from over by the window.

"No, they have a kid, Tsunade! I don't think me being around is safe for anyone and with Orochimaru an Akatsuki member I can't just stay in the same house with them!" Naruto began to hyperventilate, worry clawing at his heart.

Tsunade rushed over to his side, realizing what was happening while everyone looked on in confusion as Naruto began to shake. She placed a gentle hand on his broad back. She felt nostalgic as she remembered when he had been so small. Just a child.

"Naruto calm down. Remember what we did when you were younger? Just count. How many books are in this room?"

Naruto glanced quickly around the room.

"67, not including the two books under your desk."

"Okay good. How many papers on my desk?"

"47"

"Okay. Tiles on the floor?"

"59"

"Eyes?"

" 12"

"Add everything up, what do you get?"

No hesitation, "185."

"Divide it by five."

"37"

"Better?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto straightened and took a deep breath, refusing to look up from the floor.

"Yes thank you." He whispered.

"Does it still happen a lot?" She whispered back.

Naruto glanced at her. "Yes."

"What do you do?"

Naruto gave a small grin. He truly loved Tsunade. "The average tree has 521 leaves." He replied.

Tsunade chuckled, before her expression went grim.

"Naruto, I think staying with Sakura and Sasuke would be good. They're good ninja, they can take care of themselves."

Naruto glanced at both ninja mentioned. They were quiet, absorbing the panic attack they had just witnessed.

"Yes I know but-"

"No buts about it. You're staying with them and that is an order. If I catch you outside the village I'll send a team to track you down."

Naruto sighed and sank back down onto the couch. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

Sasuke stepped forward. He seemed calmer and more composed, but Naruto didn't have the courage to look him in the eye.

"Tell us what the hell happened. You said Orochimaru is with Akatsuki?"

"Yes, Naruto, please explain." Tsunade said. She gave him a soft look of encouragement.

Naruto sighed once more and glanced wearily about. Long strands of hair brushed against his cheek and he pushed them behind a tan ear. Zeroing in on the bookshelf by the door, he scanned its contents. He couldn't find a little white envelope anywhere among the stacks of books and folders.

"Kabuto must have been prepared and waiting just in case something happened. I would guess that once you killed Orochimaru, he switched bodies and moved into Kabuto's to save himself." Naruto glanced at Sasuke. He paused a moment, thinking through the past year before he continued.

"After three years in Kabuto's body he started switching into young children." That got a rise out of everyone present, but they all kept quite. "He thought that perhaps their chakra pathways would still be malleable at such a young age. The first kid only lasted a week. His name was Atsik, and he was five. The next one was a girl who lasted for four years, named Shihana. Right now he is in another little girl. Her name was Hirome. She would have celebrated her eighth birthday in just a few more months." Naruto's eyes got distant. Turning back to Tsunade, he began to unwind the bandages around his arms revealing the red pattern that danced down his arms like flames. They looked red and irritated but they did not bleed.

"He joined back up with the Akatsuki. At first I wasn't positive, but then this happened."

Tsunade looked stricken as she examined the deceivingly simple triangle on Naruto's neck.

"Why would he do that?" Sasuke whispered more to himself. "Why the Akatsuki?"

"Because he wants me." Naruto whispered back.

Tsunade jerked back. "What are you talking about!" she snapped.

"If and when the Akatsuki capture me, they will extract the demon from my body in the process killing me. Our souls have become so closely entwined that when one goes so does the other."

"Don't talk as if it is inevitable!" Tsunade growled tugging on a strand of Naruto's hair in annoyance.

Naruto ignored her." At this point Orochimaru is hoping to switch into my body. I was basically born with the demon in me. My whole system learned to adapt to having two souls and two chakra signatures within it. Orochimaru hopes to find a long term answer to his body problems."

"Then what is this seal he placed on you?" Tsunade asked, tapping it lightly with a fingernail.

Naruto made a face. He really didn't want to get into it. "About a year ago the Kyuubi and I started merging."

"What?" Kakashi spoke up from the corner for the first time since the whole ordeal had begun.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"But I didn't think that was possible." Tsunade said incredulously.

"Yeah well it is, and it has to do with everything. It made me more of a threat to Akatsuki. As the merge began, I started to become more powerful I guess you could say. I also began to realize the eye thingy you saw happen not but a few minutes ago. So far it allows me to see auras. After I killed Kisame-"

"Wait, what!" Tsunade cried. "When?"

Sasuke was absolutely still now. The whole room was.

"Right before Orochimaru placed the seal on me." Naruto said quietly. "It blocks all my chakra, even the Kyuubi's. That's why I can't heal like I normally would.

"How long?" Tsunade whispered.

"What?" Naruto didn't understand the question.

"How long have you known about the merge?" She burst out.

Hesitantly, "About two years now."

Tsunade looked wild for a moment. "And you didn't tell anyone! You just kept on fighting!"

Standing, Naruto's eyes flashed red. "Let me finish."

Tsunade fell silent.

" After I killed Kisame," Naruto glanced at Sasuke, "Itachi needed another partner. He received Orochimaru."

Sasuke growled threateningly in the back of his throat, but Naruto wasn't sure if it was for Orochimaru or Itachi. He would have placed his money on Itachi.

"Deciding I had evaded them for long enough, Orochimaru suggested the seal. I didn't know what was happening until it was too late. The markings are from the merge. Kyuubi is trying to resist the seal, and the merge is still attempting to take place, but it cannot. The seal keeps both my chakra and the demon's separate. It's like I have an internal battle going on inside me all the time. Whenever Kyuubi tries to use his chakra or the merge pushes onward, these chakra burns appear. My body can't process the chakra properly with the seal on so this is its physical manifestation."

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Tsunade walked around her desk and sat heavily in her chair. All these years she had felt free of that part of her past, and now it had come back. Would she never be free of it? Would it be that every time she found herself a moment of relief, the old ghosts and phantoms would come back to croon in her ears?

Seeing Naruto again was so poignant. Nostalgia and sadness was eating at her, but happiness was also making her giddy.

"Naruto, it is even more important now that you stay within these village walls. With Orochimaru out there and with the Akatsuki to boot, I can not endanger you in such a way. Maybe if you were at full strength with your chakra, I could permit it but—"

"Tsunade you can't seriously—"

"Sakura, hush." Tsunade gave her a stern look that Sakura had not seen since her fledgling days under the Hokage's tutelage.

" However," Tsunade continued, " you are not at full strength. Until this seal is lifted, you will stay here were it is safe. Until then, I will reinitiate you as a ninja of Konohagakure. You will complete missions on a team that will be assigned to you and—"

"Pardon the interruption Hokage-sama," Kakashi began. Tsunade's eye twitched." But last time I checked, Naruto is still technically a Genin. The council will never permit him to complete the level of missions he is most assuredly capable of."

Tsunade's head began to ache.

Naruto, watched as Kakashi and Tsunade began to discuss ways in which to bypass going through the council. He knew they had always hated him especially. He wouldn't have put it past them to put him to death for just re-entering the village.

Turning away from his superior's conversation, he turned to see Sakura and Sasuke talking quietly in a corner of the large office. Their heads were bent close as they conversed. Smiling softly, he thought of the little girl, Akane. They had made a beautiful little girl together. He wondered how Sasuke must have changed for him to grow so close to Sakura. He watched as wisps of dark hair brushed a pale cheek, and turned away.

He felt so secluded and alone, maybe even more so than he had been out in the wilderness.

Feeling someone approach him, he turned and nodded to Neji. They had never been too close, but the Neji had always been very polite to him, something he was still not used to. Perhaps it came from his upbringing.

"Uzumaki-san, it has been a long time. You are certainly not the boy you used to be."

Naruto's lips quirked. "You don't need to be so polite, Neji. Just Naruto is fine. You have changed yourself." And it was true.

Neji's face had become very fine. His skin was not so pale any longer, and he did not seem to hold himself as stiffly as he had in his youth. In fact, he walked more languidly and carried himself more freely. His eyes were still an unsettling pearly hue, but his lashes had grown thicker, which added a feminine aspect to his already pretty face.

"Yes well, many things have changed in the past ten years," Neji replied. Naruto gave a small smile, almost hesitant, and was shocked when Neji returned it with a small one of his own. Maybe things really had changed and for the better, too. It made Naruto happy to think of it , though his chest still ached.

For a while they both stood in silence as Kakashi and Tsunade, and Sakura and Sasuke carried out their conversations respectively.

Neji watched Naruto from the corner of his eyes, unsettled by the silence that seemed to go deeper than just audibly. It seemed a very part of the once hyper man's presence, something he carried with him and permeated even when a room was filled with noise. Neji found it puzzling to think on now so left it for later contemplation.

"Alright," Tsunade spoke, effectively drawing everyone's attention once more," Naruto, it has been decided that I won't officially reinstate you, but you will run mission's on Sasuke's team."

Naruto glanced anxiously at Sasuke, but the latter made no move to object or even return Naruto's glance. Naruto felt pain, but he hid it well. He was still not on Sasuke's radar, just a nuisance to be handled as it came.

"Also, by way of getting the seal removed, I will get in contact with Jariaya. He is bound to know more about this than I do."

Naruto pursed his lips. He hadn't seen Jariaya in so long.

"As for now, Naruto will be staying with Sasuke and Sakura." Naruto made to argue, but Tsunade stopped him. "No arguing. It has been decided. Once you are healed you will begin duties, but for now I put you under bed rest."

"But Tsunade-baba, you can't be serious!" Naruto whined, falling easily back into the role he felt was expected of him.

"Yes, gaki," she playfully gibed back," I am dead serious. Now scram, all of you. Sasuke, Neji, stay I still haven't heard your mission report yet."

"Yes Hokage-sama," Naruto heard Sasuke murmur before he had moved out into the hall with Kakashi-sensei and Sakura trailing behind him.

They walked down the twisting maze of halls in silence. Naruto began to remember the layout of the building more and more as they continued. No one gave him a passing glance as they walked down the hall, and he realized that no one really recognized him right off. After ten years, his memory had faded away.

He wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

Once they were out in the evening air, Kakashi spoke. "No one knows you are back yet Naruto. Just those of us i that were in the meeting. It isn't really meant to be a secret, but when you are ready, I know Iruka would love to see you again."

Naruto smiled at the name, and then gave Kakashi a mischievous look. Sakura looked warily at the sudden change in Naruto's manner. She wasn't really sure what to expect from it, but if Naruto were anything like he used to be, she could take a good guess.

"So, Kaka-sensei," Naruto said sweetly. Kakashi grimaced at the old pet name. "How is Iruka-nii? You see a lot of him these days?" Naruto waggled his eye brows suggestively.

Kakashi was shocked. Not even Sakura knew, or Sasuke for that matter. "How did you—"

Naruto chuckled quietly, silencing Kakashi. "Wouldn't want to blow the real secret, would you, sensei?"

Kakashi sweat dropped. "Well, that's my cue. Ja-ne!" Then with a half assed hand sign, he was gone in a puff of smoke.

"What was that about?" Sakura asked. Naruto turned to her. She looked so pale against the twilight, different than he could ever remember her being.

"So, Akane, huh," he asked, changing the subject . Sakura didn't notice. She gave small, wistful smile.

They began to walk down the lane, Naruto towering over Sakura at 6 "2. Every once and awhile their shoulders brushed.

"She's beautiful, just like her mother." And her father, he added silently.

Sakura blushed slightly, but raised her eyebrow critically at Naruto. "I know she takes more after her father. She looks just like Sasuke, really."

"Aww, come now, Sakura. Don't be so humble." Naruto chuckled.

The rest of the walk was carried out in silence, something that came effortlessly to Naruto now. The stars began to gleam above their heads. Naruto, never thought he would seem them again like this, within his home once more.

He wasn't sure where his life was leading him, had never truly been certain, and he found he was a little afraid.

Feeling Sakura's small hand slip into his own, he gave a small smile. He would have given anything for her to hold his hand when he had been 12, but that was the past, and things were different now. Now, she was married, and it was no longer her hand that he wished to hold.

She gave a friendly squeeze as the stars swirled above them in the heavens. Maybe, just maybe, Naruto could sleep tonight. He was tired and he wasn't qoing anywhere soon, not with Tsunade watching him so closely.

He would just have to wait to see what the future held.

TBC

AN: I don't actually know how many leaves the average tree has. I gave the best guess I could, but if anyone does know, feel free to tell me! Chapter six will be coming as soon as I can get it out, I promise! Please review, if you could spare the time.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Thank you for all of the reviews! I've finally finished up this chapter, yay!

Annibellee: I can understand what you mean about Naruto's lovely long hair, but I adore him with long hair! I also have a reason behind his long hair that will be revealed later! Please continue to review and tell me if there might be other things you would enjoy or dislike. I listen to those who review!

Twiztidchick666: THANK YOU, and I'll try my best to update regularly. I can be such a lazy bum sometimes.

.Alpha: I suppose the panic attack should be explained more. Maybe I can find somewhere to fit it in. I just always thought that there would be serious effects on Naruto due to his upbringing and the emotional trauma of pretty much his whole child hood. I'll think of a good way to make a good plausible explanation.

Caleebius: Ah, thank you for reviewing so often. I looked up Jiraiya (the correct way) on Narutopedia, which is a great reference site for those who like to stick to the actual Naruto-verse. I am more of an AU type of guy. But I might slip back into the improper way out of habit, so if anyone catches that, let me know!

Ooxshinobixoo: Aw, such a dear. Thank you!

Slatedfox: I thought about your plot ideas, and maybe I can do something along those lines. I mean, Naruto must have at least tried being with a woman after figuring his situation with Sasuke was pretty hopeless. Especially after being away for 10 years. In my mind, he probably was with a few guys while away, too. I see him as being more of a bi-sexual type of person. I haven't hinted in previous chapters about him having a kid, but I'll think on it some more, so please stay tuned!

Akirakun17: Thank you, thank you, thank you for your multiple reviews and that very long one! I might actually make Naruto a little taller than Sasuke for a more realistic approach. Seeing as Sasuke is often portrayed as having a very pure Japanese heritage, he always seems naturally shorter than Naruto to me, who has blonde hair and blue eyes, which in a traditional sense of the world we live in, screams a northern heritage. Thus his build being a bit more robust than Sasuke. Of course, in other plot bunnies that I've had, Naruto is shorter than Sasuke in their youth do to a lot of angst riddled things like malnutrition and emotional things. Gah, I think too much, don't hate me. *runs and hides*

For those reviewers who I did not respond to, please forgive me! If you review again, I'll be sure to get you in next time!

Now for the main event.

Chapter 6

In the past, Naruto had rarely ever gone anywhere near the old Uchiha district, none-the-less gone in. He could still remember that night, Sasuke's pale scarred skin lit by the blue of his chidori. Giving a slight shiver, he told himself it was only the gentle breeze that seeped through the streets.

The main entrance was located in an upscale part of town that Naruto had never had the need to go to. There had been times in his youth when he couldn't sleep at night that he had roamed the streets, and on occasion his feet had carried him to stand in front of the very gates that he and Sakura were now approaching. Even when Sasuke no longer lived in the village, his feet had still carried him there.

For some reason, they both paused at the entrance still hand in hand. It was as if they were children again, unsure of themselves but wishing so much for something, neither of them really knowing what.

Growing antsy, Naruto let go of Sakura's hand and walked past the peeling paint of the archway, and soon she, too, walked through. It was just as Naruto remembered it. It was run down and broken, a shattered piece of something, but as they got closer to Sasuke's old family home, and the home he now shared with Sakura and their child, Naruto noticed small things that had been fixed. New coats of paint and flower beds frothing with Jasmine and other things stood out against all the carnage of the past.

Stopping to smell a bush of honeysuckle that was beginning to creep up the side of a dilapidated building, Naruto smiled. Sakura came up behind him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"One day, he just did it. He came home with all of it, boxes of flowers and paint and wood stain, even a few new doorknobs and some new paper for the doors and windows, and set out to fix things. It's only been small things so far." As Naruto watched, her eyes became distant and a wistful smile twisted her lips.

"You're happy, aren't you, Sakura?" He asked softly.

Startled by the question her jade eyes locked with his. Then she smiled. "Oh yes, very much so." Then something seemed to dawn on her, and she turned and began walking again. Naruto followed after her, feeling such turmoil that he buried inside himself. He was happy for his teammates. This was the very thing he had wished for, after all. Their happiness. It just so happened that they had found it with each other.

They walked slowly through the rows of flowers that Sasuke had planted, heading towards the main house that was tucked into the back of the complex.

"But, Naruto, you must understand…," Sakura began again, seeming to falter. She looked away for a moment, and then looked back. It seemed she changed her mind, and so began to say something different. "I am very worried about him. He overworks himself to the point of exhaustion only to do it all over again without any time in between to rest. Even Kakashi-sensei is worried. I don't know what to do. Me and," She cut herself off, "well, me and Akane, we worry about him, and she is only seven!" She shook her head softly, a sad expression on her face.

Naruto put his arm around her, and she leaned into his chest. It was so weird to hold anyone like this, none the less Sakura, who had always shot him down in their youth. But things had changed so greatly, he wasn't sure if he even knew himself anymore.

Slowly the road they had been walking along tapered out into a pathway that wound through a stand of trees. Under the thick canopy, the moonlight filtered through the leaves and stained the ground. Then they broke out of the band of trees and into a bit of a clearing where the path continued on. It led right up to the steps of Sasuke's home where yellowed lights glowed from inside through the traditional paper screen doors.

Naruto moved to continue on, but Sakura stopped him with a hesitant hand on his arm. They still stood in the shadow of the trees.

Naruto turned back confused. Sakura was looking at him a little shyly, and he realized that she did not know how to act around him now after so many years. It sent a thrill of melancholy through him, but it was understandable. After all, they stood ten years away from each other.

"But now that you are here, I have hope, Naruto." She smiled so benevolently at him. "You may not believe it, not after everything that has happened between you two, but you where always the only one to get a rise out of Sasuke. If you cannot help him come to his senses, then there is nothing else left. You really are my only hope in bringing him fully back to us."

By us, Naruto supposed she meant herself and Akane. Sasuke's family.

Naruto was shocked. He had no words. He felt numbed and ambushed with this revelation. Sakura saw this on his face and laughed a little into her hand.

"But Sakura, we were never on the best of terms. I'm sure he doesn't like me very much, even now!" Naruto burst out.

Sakura tilted her head a bit. "Well, to be honest, after you left he never spoke of you. No one did, really, except those of us from rookie nine and of course Gai's team. But Sasuke never did, not once. I'm not sure why, but I don't think it was because he hated you." She said it reassuringly, but Naruto was still unconvinced.

They stood there a moment in silence just outside the warm glow emanating from the house. Then Sakura pulled something from out of her pocket. It was a crumpled stained envelope with 'Sakura' scrawled neatly in blue on the front. Naruto recognized it immediately. She still had his note after all this time.

"When I read it for the first time, I cried." Her clear eyes looked up at him. "It didn't explain anything, not why you left or where you were going, but it touched me all the same. I've carried it with me ever since, as a reminder. I just thought you might like to know." Then she pushed it back into her pocket.

Taking Naruto's hand again, she led him further up the dusty path. Lush green grass grew on both sides of it, some of it reaching as high as his knees in places. The crickets and cicadas had already begun to serenade the night. There was the hollow thunk of their footsteps as they mounted the stairs, and then Sakura smiled sweetly at him as she slid open a paper door and light spilled out across their toes. Naruto couldn't help returning a genuine smile of his own before they walked into the glow. 

~:~ 

It was well into the night time hours as Neji walked toward the Hyuuga compound. After he and Sasuke had been debriefed, the latter had bid him a brusque farewell and headed in the opposite direction of the old Uchiha complex. Neji was intrigued as to where his captain could be going, but it was not in his nature to butt in on other people's personal affairs, so he dismissed it from his mind.

The village streets were fairly quiet except for the occasional noise that leaked from some of the bars, clubs, and restaurants along his way, and it gave him a good atmosphere to contemplate things as he walked towards his own home. So, Naruto was back, at least for a while until this seal ordeal could be remedied.

It was odd seeing him after so long. Neji couldn't exactly say he was personally affected after Naruto's disappearance, but he did notice a change in the air once the realization had set in with some of his comrades. It would be interesting to see how this affected everyone now. He truly hoped it would liven things up around here. In recent years, things had become rather monotonous and dismal.

Just as he was thinking this, a body crashed into his own causing him to stumble.

"NEJI, MY ALL TIME RIVAL, WE MEET AGAIN!"

Neji sweatdropped. Okay, so maybe things were still pretty lively with Lee around.

"Lee, we saw each other just yesterday." Neji said, shooting a sideways glance at Lee who had slowed his pace to match Neji's relaxed one. He quickly averted his gaze, however, at the sight of Lee without his shirt on. He was only wearing sweats. No shoes. Just sweats.

Neji's face stayed impassive, but his stomach wiggled a little.

Lee chuckled and scratched the back of his shaggy head. He had stopped emulating Gai-san a few years back, after they had passed the Jounin exams.

"I now Neji-kun, I was just being silly. You seemed a little down walking out here all by yourself." Lee shot him a grin. Neji's chest tightened. He pursed his lips.

"Lee," he began," why aren't you wearing any shoes." He decided it was pointless to ask about his lack of a shirt.

"Oh well, I was out for a jog, and I like running without shoes on." Lee looked off to his right and into the display window a closed pastry shop. "I know it sounds weird." He mumbled.

Neji couldn't help laughing at that, throwing his head back slightly so that the strands of his hair brushed his cheeks. It was a full sound that echoed off the buildings. It even made his eyes water.

Still chuckling, he replied."Lee, of all the things for you to find weird about yourself, you choose the fact that you like to go for late night jogs through the village without your shoes." Neji wiped his eyes and calmed down a fraction.

Lee was staring at him with wide eyes. "Neji, you just laughed. You're even smiling!" Neji noticed Lee's face looked flushed. He was probably getting over excited again. And that meant—"ARE YOU SICK? ARE YOU AN IMPERSONATION? IS THE WORLD ABOUT TO END!"—yelling.

Neji sighed and shook his head, still chuckling at the absurdity of his companion. "Lee, you are a piece of work."

Lee stared at him a little longer, before he seemed to relax a bit. "Well, if it will make you smile like that," he said.

Neji was grateful for the cover of night, because the summer heat must have been getting to him. His face felt hot.

~:~ 

The house had been empty despite all the lights that had been on. Sakura hadn't seemed to notice the oddness of it though. She had tugged Naruto right along behind her, giving him a peppy tour of the house. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at this version of Sakura which was so alike to the one of his childhood.

The house was made up of two stories. The bottom floor and the kitchen were mostly traditional with sliding paper doors and tatami mats, but there was also a couch in the living room and a coffee table littered with scrolls and documents, kunai and the like. There were even a few crayons and colored pencils scattered in the mess. It struck Naruto as a rather interesting mix of items.

"Please forgive the mess. Akane can be a handful and Sasuke is always reading those scrolls so even if I put them away for him, they always end up right back out." She said, as she bent to pick up a doll from off the floor.

Tucking it under her arm, she continued to tidy up as she led Naruto through the house.

"This is the kitchen, and here is the bathroom for this level. Over there is basically just a library, but there is also Sasuke's study upstairs which is full of books and things, too."

They were getting ready to continue the little tour upstairs to the aforementioned second floor when one of the back screen doors banged open, and a little ball of energy burst across the room and was at Sakura's hip.

"Mama, mama, look! Me and Auntie Ino, we caught glow bugs!" Akane held up a medium sized jar. Inside little orbs of green and yellow tapped lightly against the glass. Her tiny fingers clutched at the container as she jiggled on her toes in her excitement.

"Oh, sweetheart, that's wonderful!" Sakura said, brushing curls out of her daughters flushed face just as another person stepped into the house.

"Akane, get your silly little bottom back here! Take your shoes off!" Ino looked the same as she always had, if not a little taller. Her long pale hair crawled down her back in a single braid that swung as Akane rushed back to her. The little girl pushed the jar of "glow bugs" into her hands and bent to pull her sandals off. Ino cocked her hip and balanced the jar against it with one hand as she playfully tapped her foot in mock annoyance. Her eyes were dancing with laughter.

She had yet to notice Naruto towering behind Sakura, where he had frozen in the flurry of activity. Once Akane had her shoes off, Ino pivoted and began to speak. "Hello my pinku no hana." She said to Sakura. "You didn't come back when I thought you would, so I took Aka Sukoshi down to the water and—," Her electric eyes widened as she took in the form of Naruto.

Naruto smiled sheepishly and scratched his cheek. God, he felt so awkward. "Uh, Ino, hey. Long time no see, right?"

To Naruto's surprise, Ino's eyes flashed with anger. Then, she came storming over, glow bugs still in hand, and yanked on a strand of Naruto's hair.

"YOU BIG BAKA!" She yelled up at him. "Do you have any idea what you—." Sakura slapped her hand over Ino's mouth and laughed nervously.

"Uh, I'm sorry for that Naruto-kun. Your room will be the corner one on the left side of the hall up stairs. Please, Akane, honey, you know which one. Why don't you show my friend the way while I talk to Ino for a sec? I promise I'll be right up." Then she dragged Ino back outside onto the wraparound porch that she had earlier entered from, leaving Naruto to stand at the foot of the stairs with the girl. He couldn't help but notice she barely even reached his knees.

Giving him a curious once over, Akane took Naruto's large calloused hand in her own little one and tugged to get him to follow her. Naruto watched Akane's dark curls bounce as they moved up the stairs. He wondered who she had inherited them from. He was pretty sure Sakura's hair was pretty straight. Though, Sasuke's hair did do that flippy, spiky thing in the back. Maybe if his hair were longer it would curl like his daughter's did.

Feeling a little antsy around the fragile seeming child, he let his hand remain limp in hers and walked quietly after her, his instincts switching on a bit at his nervousness. He could only imagine what Sasuke or Sakura would do to him if he hurt Akane. He had never been around children that much, not really when he had been one himself either. The whole being-shunned-for-carrying-a-fox-demon-in-your-belly thing really had really helped with that.

The girl didn't seem very nervous, though. Once they reached the top of the stairs, she turned and gave Naruto a little smile before pulling him to the right. There was another section of hall with about 5 doors now behind them and the one they were walking down had the same amount. There were two on the left, and three on the right.

"That one is Daddy's room. Mommy and Ino's are the other way." She pointed a little finger to the left as they passed a door. Her voice startled Naruto. It sounded sort of silvery if that made any sense.

"Wait, your parents don't sleep in the same room?" Naruto was confused. "And Ino stays with you?"

"Yeah. Mommy says Daddy has bad nightmares too often and they would always wake her up. She says she was worried that all that sadness would hurt me when I was in her belly, so Daddy got to have a room to him-self. His office is right across the hall." She pointed again, but this time to the right from where they had paused in the middle of the hall. Naruto had to bend down a bit as Akane was still holding his hand.

"Sometimes he lets me sit in his lap and watch him paint in there. He paints very pretty things." She craned her head upwards and smiled proudly at him. Her teeth were all white and very straight, though they were very small, only baby teeth and a few were missing.

Naruto could only blink. Sasuke paints? He had never thought he'd see the day when the moody teme would do something so—creative.

"Mommy and Ino, they're best friends. They have their own rooms right next to each other." She nodded back behind them.

"Why does Ino stay with you guys?" Naruto couldn't help but ask. So many things had changed. Everything felt so brand new. And he felt like a stranger.

"Well, her mommy and daddy, they made her leave their house a long time ago, when I was just a baby. Mommy and Ino, sometimes they talk about it but I don't know why it happened." She squeezed her little hand around two of his fingers and looked up at him with big black eyes. "It's very sad, don't you think?"

He just nodded, dazed by this little girl. She tugged on his hand to get him to move again.

"That one's my room. It's right beside Daddy's. Sometimes when I hear him at night being sad, I get up and hold his hand so he feels better. When I have bad dreams, that's what both Mommy and Daddy do for me. We all go to Daddy's bed and sleep together so the bad dreams stay away." He wondered if that really helped with bad dreams. No one had ever been around to do that for him when he had been a kid.

They passed by Akane's room and reached the end of the hall. Letting go of Naruto's hand, she slid open the door to the corner room that Sakura had mentioned. The doors up here still slid open in the traditional style, but they were made of heavy wood and not paper.

Curious, Naruto looked at the door directly across from the one that was to be his. Akane hadn't mentioned anything about it. "What about that one?" He pointed. Akane turned to look from where she had stepped into the room.

"Oh, that one?" Her little girl voice asked. "I don't know, but only Daddy is allowed in there. Not even mommy will go in."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, but decided it could be left for later investigation.

Stepping into the spacious room, he couldn't help but smile a little as Akane ran ahead of him and bounced up onto the good sized bed as maybe any kid her age would. He would probably be a little tall for the bed, though.

"That, right there," Akane pointed to a door that was across from the foot of the bed where she was perched, "is the closet."

The room was situated so that when he walked in, he was in a short hall. He opened a door to his right that Akane hadn't mentioned. It was a bathroom, with a bath and everything. Naruto raised his eyebrows. It was a bit fancier than what he was used to having.

Walking out of the short corridor, he took stock of the rest of the room. Two of the walls, the one to his right and the one directly in front of him, had big clean windows with thin curtains over them. The curtains were pushed open and a bit of moonlight spilt in, enough so that neither he, nor Akane, had thought to turn on the overhead light.

The bed was pushed up under the window to his right, where Akane was watching him with her sharp eyes. A bedside table with a lamp and clock on it were on the far side of the bed and a dresser was against the wall to the right of the little impromptu hall. The rest of the floor was covered in tatami mats, and there was enough room for him to do some stretches and balance exercises.

Akane patted the bed beside her where she sat on the edge. "Come sit. You look tired."

Naruto realized he was feeling tired. His body was still very sore, but he was good at ignoring it. Plus, Tsunade was a much better healer than his bang up jobs at first-aid in the past.

Moving over, he sat beside Akane and almost sighed at the relief it brought to his ribs.

Akane giggled into her hand. "See, I knew you were tired mister….umm, what's your name?"

Naruto chuckled at her cuteness. "It's Naruto." He said.

"Fish cake? That's a silly name. Why would your Mommy name you that?" Akane asked in a puzzled voice.

"Well, I actually don't know my parents, so I'm not sure, but I would ask them that myself if I could." Naruto said, shifting his weight nervously on the bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry Naru-kun." Akane looked up at him with mournful eyes.

"Hey, don't worry about it, you didn't know." Naruto waved if off, giving her a playful poke in the side. She squeaked and giggled.

"Na, you're hair is very pretty, Naru-kun. Can I—may I touch it?" She asked hesitantly.

"Of course, but you have to promise not to pull it like Ino did. That really did hurt." He pouted a bit. Akane giggled again.

"Of course I won't. Sometimes Auntie Ino can be like that." She threaded her cool hands through the long strands of his hair. "Like, she calls me Aka Sukoshi all the time, but I'm not all _that_ small for my age." Akane gave a little pout of her own, the her eyes brightened as she thought of something.

"Hey, if you'd like, I could braid it for you. I do Auntie's hair, and she says all the time that if I didn't, it would always be getting in her face." She said, pulling back the hair that was hanging against Naruto's cheeks.

"Alright," Naruto said gratefully. Losing his hair tie in that last fight (and he was pretty sure it had been with Diedara now. The little punk was always taunting Naruto during their battles about how he was going to cut "all that long pretty hair right off your corpse."), had been annoying. It was too hot to have his hair down during this season.

"Okay!" Akane said happily. She scrambled up to kneel behind Naruto on the bed, being careful of his bandages. With practiced movements, she began to gently divide his hair into three sections.

The rhythmic motions of her braiding began to make Naruto drowsy.

"Hey, Naruto?" Akane whispered a bit. Her hands continued to braid.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you all hurt?"

The question startled him a bit, but he guessed it was kind of obvious with all the bandages he was wrapped in. He frowned.

"Well, I got in a fight. A couple fights, actually."

"No, I don't mean the bandages." She said, tying the braid off.

Naruto turned to her confused. "Well then, what do you mean?

"I mean, why do you hurt here," she tapped lightly on his chest, "on the inside?"

Naruto looked into her dark eyes, astonished that such a small child had asked him such a question.

Smiling the best he could, he caught her little hand which was still resting on his chest. "Because Akane-san, sometimes the world isn't fair, and when it turns out to be this way, it can be sad. But I try not to let it get to me, and you shouldn't either, okay?"

Akane nodded her head seriously. "Okay." She placed her other little hand on his face as only a child could do." But don't smile so sadly. When you do, you look just like Daddy when he is sad." 

~:~ 

Sakura stood just outside the open door, leaning against the wall. She tilted her head upwards, staring at the shadows on the ceiling. She felt a bit like crying but warded it off with the happiness that Naruto was here in her house.

Ino could be handful at times, but she had always been that way. Sakura had taken outside to talk about the things she would have to be wary of now. There were things that Ino couldn't say now that there was a guest in the house and had also updated her on the current state of affairs. She had been horrified at the news of Orochimaru's health and had hugged Sakura.

'She can't lose her father.' Sakura had mumbled into Ino's shoulder. She knew that Naruto had said that the snake was after him now, but there was always the fear that Sasuke would leave the again. It was rather unfounded but it was something she thought about all the same.

Listening to the way he talked to Akane, Sakura felt a rush of affection. She could tell he was nervous being around a child, but she wasn't too sure if it was purely for that fact or if it was because it was her's and Sasuke's child. It was rather endearing.

Sighing silently, she thought back to Naruto in Tsunade's office. He wasn't the same. None of them were, she supposed, but to think that even Naruto was no longer the vibrant, rambunctious kid of their youth was jarring.

And to think he had been right there at the wedding, so close! She was a little angry that he had not made himself known. She didn't understand why, had never understood Naruto. Sasuke was perhaps easier to get. He had isolated himself and cut is ties to protect him-self. But Naruto had always smiled through everything. It was almost insane the amount of perseverance he had. Where she would have faltered and fallen, those two could always plow onward. It was a part of why they were so strong, and she had always been the last one of their team. Of course, both Sasuke and Naruto could be bumbling idiots, too, but now they were all grown up. Naruto was practically a stranger now, and yet there he was, sitting in the spare bedroom talking with her daughter!

"No, I don't mean the bandages."

"Well then, what do you mean?"

"I mean, why do you hurt here on the inside?"

Sakura drew herself from her thoughts and held her breath. Sometimes Akane could be a little blunt she realized. That was something she definitely got from her father.

There was a pause. Sakura wondered herself how Naruto would answer. There were various ways as to how he could answer, most of them not really something you should say to a seven year old.

"Because Akane-san, sometimes the world isn't fair, and when it turns out to be this way, it can be sad. But I try not to let it get to me, and you shouldn't either, okay?"

His voice sounded so hopeful, so light and airy that Sakura wished she could turn the corner and see his expression. Naruto's true emotions had always showed themselves through his eyes, and eavesdropping like this without seeing his face made it feel as if she weren't really hearing him at all.

His answer was so mature, so old sounding, maybe even a bit wise. It really began to sink in that Naruto was here, that he was real, but that he was much different.

Steeling herself, she pushed her face into a pleasant smile and finally rounded that corner like she had just arrived at the door. Knocking on the partially open door, she beckoned Akane to her. "I hope you're hungry Naruto, because I've prepared some yakisoba!" She said brightly.

Naruto turned to watch Akane scurry over to her. His eyes-so weathered down and faded in the moonlight. She almost choked and dropped her smile, but caught it just in time before it shattered at her feet.

Smiling down at Akane to hide the startled light that she knew must be shining in her eyes, she nudged her towards the door. "Go wash up hun." Akane nodded and hurried from the room.

"And don't forget to turn the faucet off when you're done." Sakura called after her.

Turning back to Naruto, she held her hand out towards him. He looked so vulnerable in the weak light with his hair pulled out of his face. Almost like a child. But when he focused on her hand reaching out to him, he smiled and his faced collapsed back into familiar lines. Lines of strength and cheerfulness. The lines of his mask.

Her hand trembled as it really sunk in, finally and deeply, that Naruto really was here. He was home.

He unfolded himself and walked to her, taking her cold hand in his rough warm ones.

In answer to her question, he smiled down at her. "I'm absolutely famished."

~Author's Note~

TRANSLATIONS:

pinku no hana=pink flower. Ino is referring to Sakura as her pink flower.

Aka Sukoshi=little red. Ino is referring to Akane, who's name means "deep red".


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Shorter chapter, but I hope you enjoy. Review and tell me where you might like to see this story go, because at the moment I'm not too sure. I do have a few ideas for some small moments, but they're just small pebbles in the grand river. Agg, help me!

Chapter 7:

The extended meeting with Tsunade had borne no results against the dire problem of the Akatsuki and their refreshed threat against the village. No real decisions could be made until more information was present, but Tsunade had refused to send scouts out at his insistence. She didn't want to raise alarm or risk any lives before it was absolutely necessary, but they couldn't just stand idly by and wait! They were blind in a moment when the village could possibly be at the greatest risk. What was the point of even having elite forces if they were never put to proper use?

And having Naruto behind village walls didn't help matters either. It sounded cold, even to Sasuke, and he ignored the flash of emotions as he thought it, but it couldn't be denied.

He sat, half submerged in tall unkempt grass, at the back of the old genin training fields. They had been left mostly abandoned for a year or two now that new ones had been made in a more ideal spot on the opposite side of the village. His back was pressed against his favorite of the three stumps that sat on the edge of the clearing, the middle one, head tilted upwards so that a thin sliver of moon and glittering sky was in his line of vision.

On occasion, the pale shapes of clouds would waft through the midnight sky and obscure the chip of moon lodged above him, obscuring all light. He watched this simple sway of nature, a frown adorning his lips.

It felt different to have the Akatsuki threatening them now than it had when he had been younger. Despite his thirst for power and vengeance, he had still been nothing but a genin. But now he was an anbu captain. He had responsibilities to the village that he had not had then. It was something akin to fear that roiled in his belly at the thought of the set of events that were being set into motion.

Sasuke refused to admit that these emotions had anything to do with Naruto being in danger. His frown deepened.

And Orochimaru….he saw the acidic yellow eyes in his mind as he had on the night that he'd severed head from body. They'd glowed like wet metal, chips of crystal in bone. How could it be that he was still alive? Why was it that everything always crumbled when he least expected it to? Perhaps nothing _ever _lasted in this world.

Sighing, he felt his head grow light and dizzy from all this thinking. He had been sitting in the same spot for hours. He didn't want to admit that he was hiding, but he knew that was what he was doing. Naruto was in his house with his wife and child, probably fast asleep by now with all he had been through in the last 48 hours. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it.

He didn't know why it was making him so anxious. And it wasn't like Sakura was really his wife in the usual sense. Just on paper. She was a good mother, and they had definitely formed a bond deeper than anything they had had as teammates fresh out of the academy. He felt a deep affection for her and would sacrifice his life to protect her or Akane, but Sakura's heart did not lie with him, in fact, did not lie with any man. She had Ino for that.

And that presented yet _another _thing to think about it. If Sakura chose to tell Naruto about _that, _how would he take it? He had had that crush on Sakura forever in their youth…did he still feel that way? Sasuke felt trepidation at the thought and bit his lip slightly.

It was tiring to keep denying it. He was relieved Naruto was in the village, despite whatever danger it brought. God, all the worrying and wondering could be put to rest, at least for the time being. And if he could just build up the courage to go home, maybe things would work out for the best. The best, he supposed, being that Naruto stayed in Konoha and no interference from Akatsuki or Orochimaru would occur.

What was he even afraid of? He was _the _Uchiha Sasuke. He was an Anbu captain of Konohagakure. He feared nothing. But this was really getting to him. It wasn't really fear exactly…_was it self-consciousness?_ No, that couldn't be it. What did he have to be self-conscious about, especially with Naruto of all people.

His eyebrows creased.

His mind wandered with the clouds and he turned to thoughts of Naruto's blue, sick eyes in the sunlight, shimmering red around the edges, images of long blond hair, and hands calloused and bronzed by years of living on the run and in the wild. Without paying attention to it, he watched a parade of amalgamated memories and imaginings bounce about in his head. He remembered the style of Naruto's movements in training, the push of heels in the dirt, and clumsy brutal strength. He wondered what Naruto had done in the time he had been away, what types of places he had traveled too, things he had seen and new jutsu's and techniques he had picked up along the way.

Somewhere in the distance, an owl howled as it swooped in for a kill and Sasuke was pulled from pictures of foreign countries and strange, faceless people. Had Naruto made new friends and relationships, as he had always seemed to have a knack for doing?

Standing from the grass he had flattened to sit on, Sasuke walked through to the edge of the forest and merged soundlessly into the shadows. He was tired of swimming in unanswered questions. It was time he just let time move forward and allow the future unfold as it planned to. Whatever was meant to happen would.

~.~

_Sleep. Sleep damn it….come on, this is the first real bed in months…._

It was useless. No matter how comfortable the thick mattress was against Naruto's bruised body, he still couldn't relax. He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep before in Tsunade's examining room, but it couldn't possibly have been enough to make up for the weeks he had gone without sleeping. He had been so on edge and then Diadara and Sasori….Damnit, if he could just close his eyes, maybe all this crap could fade away, just for a little while! Rubbing his hands along his face, he thought back to earlier.

The dinner that Sakura'd prepared was delicious, and Naruto had scarfed it down, starving as he was from days without anything but water every now and then. Being on the run left little time to make dinner, especially when he had been injured.

But it had also been highly awkward. Ino, who had grown to be a beautiful young woman, glared non-stop at him while Sakura tried to make small-talk. Sweet little Akane had merely stared, though Naruto thought it adorable.

He'd felt like such a stranger sitting at that table. Sasuke had never shown up and so his place remained vacant. Naruto wasn't sure if he was relieved by that or disappointed. A little bit of both he decided.

Supposedly, for some unsaid reason, Ino had truly been kicked out of her house some time ago by her parents, and so it was a given she would stay with Sakura, who was her best friend, or so Sakura said. Naruto knew he wasn't seeing the whole picture, but it was nowhere near his place to pry and so accepted it for face value.

Of course Sakura, and even Ino every now and then, would ask questions. How have you been? What types of places did you travel to? Any news? Why did you decide to grow your hair so long? The last had been Ino's. She was still the same as ever, head strong, and Naruto still felt amused by it.

He answered them all but with few details. It wasn't that he disliked them asking questions; just that he didn't like answering them. As for the hair thing, he had merely shrugged his shoulders. They wouldn't have understood anyway.

Just thinking about dinner made him uncomfortable. His whole body felt exhausted but his mind would not rest. Coming back had to have been some kind of mistake. He felt even more out of place than before, when he had been an adolescent, and now the two people who had offered any sort of companionship to him in the years before viewed him as an acquaintance, buried by age and time. He had truly never felt so alone. Not as a child shielding himself from the violence of the villagers, not when Mizuki betrayed him, not when Sasuke left, and not even through the years of fighting the Akatsuki on his own.

Feeling that vile tightness in his chest once more, Naruto rolled gingerly onto his other side, careful of his ribs and back. And then rolled back over again. His mind was full and troubled. He had thought he'd stay long enough to deliver the information, get bandaged up, and be on his way again, not sleeping in Sasuke and Sakura's guest bedroom!

Frustrated, Naruto flung the covers off his body, not even noticing the ache of his joints and the fire in his back. Feet on the cold hardwood floor, he padded over to the window. Full moon. He could feel it. His blood was alight with its slivered light.

Chewing on his bottom lip, he felt his mind grow blank as he stared at the blurring edges of its cratered surface. Some thin boundary deep inside him shuddered and shivered. The skin beneath his bandages began to tickle and sear, and he quickly tore his eyes away from the moon and the trance it had put him in.

No wonder he couldn't sleep. It was the energy of nature and what he contained inside him that kept pulling him from the quietness behind his eyelids that he so desired.

Eyes drifting down from the night sky, he caught sight of a sparkle below the shade of the countless trees that stood sentinel at the edge of what served as a backyard, all thought it was merely a glorified clearing with no true boundary. It flashed and glimmered in the fickle light beneath the branchy canopy and seemed to bob and weave in the dark. Naruto wasn't sure what it was and was almost tempted to go investigate, anything to get out of this room if he wasn't going to get any sleep, when Sasuke himself melted into the wane moonlight, shrugging the shadows off of his shoulders like a cloak. He seemed preoccupied, brows furrowed, though he glided silently over the grass, flicking a kunai nimbly around his left pointer finger. _That must have been what caught the moons shining eye_, thought Naruto.

Simply watching, Naruto frowned. This was the life he was now destined to, to watch from a distance and never know closeness again. Turning from the window, he heard it as Sasuke gently rolled open a paper screen door and walked inside. Naruto moved to the center of the room and folded into the lotus position. Meditation would help clear his mind.

Before he slipped into the quiet, he heard footsteps on the stairs and felt it as Sasuke paused in front of a door out in the hallway. He seemed to be listening or concentrating on something. Furrowing his eyebrows, Naruto lightly extended is awareness, manipulating his energy to "see", as it were, the energy signatures around him. Ignoring the other signatures in the house, he focused on the one closest to him. Sasuke's curling blue chakra stood in front of what Akane had pointed out as his study. He wasn't going to bed?

Suddenly, he opened his eyes, subsequently breaking his concentration and dispelling his "sight". Sasuke had sensed him and Naruto knew that he knew he was awake. His frown deepening, he closed his eyes and began to meditate, receding into himself and, for all intents and purposes, ignored Sasuke who still stood in the hallway.

But he still felt it as Sasuke finally opened the door and disappeared into the room.

~.~


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Wow. Another chapter so fast! I really feel on a roll. For those who were wondering whether Sasuke ever went into his room, he went into his study. Akane pointed it out in a previous chapter. Sasuke has a bedroom as well as a seperater room for paperwork and his art hobby and such. I'm sorry if that wasn't clear! If you have any other stray queries or suggestions, feel free to tell me!

Chapter 8:

Sitting at his cluttered desk, Sasuke's body ached for his bed across the hall, but his head demanded he remain.

Colors dripped into a singed sunset, fingers smeared and smudged with grey graphite. Images, memories really, were filtering through his mind, pouring down on his shoulders. He could barely paint fast enough. All the while, water dripped down his cheeks, rolling over the bridge of his nose and splashing to mix with the smears of sun and flecks of sky on the paper. And the confusion and anger mixed with the blood in his heart.

~.~

Gravel crunched obnoxiously loud in the predawn quiet. Without achieving any amount of sleep, Naruto had decided to leave the house. Through the window, it might be good to add. Not the best idea, he revised, due to his state of injury. Oh well, he had already been midair when he realized absorbing the shock with his knees would be easy, but twisting down to keep his balance was going to be a bit hard, what with that stupid slice on his back and all.

Perhaps it had more to do with the weirdness of sleeping in a room than his complete inability to actually sleep that had driven him outdoors, but it wasn't like he hadn't stayed at inns every now and then. It was just hard to get used to he guessed.

Parting branches, and stepping over a particularly dense section of underbrush, Naruto continued down the overgrown path. He had been following the scent of water for 30 minutes now, believing that looking for it would give him a good diversion until the sun rose. He would have taken to the trees, but without the help of chakra to keep him on the branches, he was worried he might fall out. On the way to Konoha, he must have fallen out of the trees a good ten times, but that had been a time of great emergency.

Besides, he wanted to take his time, wanted to breath in the fresh smell of green and nature. And he wasn't in a rush, but rather quite the opposite. With his sharp eyes, he saw easily in the dark and felt happy and at home in the tangled woods.

The tangy clear scent of the natural water source strengthened ten fold with the soft caressing of a passing wind, and Naruto knew he was close. It had to be just behind this stand of trees…

Brushing leaves and thin, bouncy twigs out of his way, Naruto broke out onto the bank of a large lake. Tinged a reddening color of purple, the reflection of the lightening sky spanned its placid surface, twinkling in a beautiful iridescence that made Naruto smile in awe.

Wishing he could get in, he sighed wistfully, knowing it would be no use to make Tsunade-baba mad at him. She'd twist his ear off for getting his bandages all sodden. Instead he chose to watch the sun rise in its glittering surface. Fish darted every now and then to the top, catching bugs in their maws before slinking away to the bottom far below. Their tiny ripples extended forever outward in a continuous arc that distorted the coiling colors beginning to show in the sky.

Naruto's good mood slowly began to decline, however, as he soon realized he would have to head back and leave the beauty of nature behind. He had no idea how he was going to get through this. He knew it, deep down inside, that Sasuke didn't want him around. He was so sure of it. And Sakura, as nice as ever, he was simply a nuisance to her and the budding family she had always wanted. Slamming his fist down into the dirt, he growled low in his throat. Why was he such a bother? Why had he even been born? Glaring at the sky, he wanted to yell his pleas and questions to the heavens but refrained.

Sitting in the dirt, he glowered and fumed, so frustrated at himself was he. He knew it had been important to warn Tsunade of Orochimaru, but part of him doubted it had been a good idea to come himself, though there had been no other way. He'd been wandering in the surrounding wilderness of Mist Country when the decision to return to Konoha had become clear to him. It had taken him a year to come to the decision, but once he'd made it, he was determined. It would have gone a lot smoother if Sasori and Deidara hadn't caught him off guard.

He had been so stupid, comforted by the mere thought of home! But of course it wasn't his home anymore…

He had been dreaming. A red bridge stood, glowing like dying embers in a fog so impenetrable. But there standing at the top of its gentle arc, there was his family. There was his team. And he tried to move towards it, he tried so hard, but his legs would not carry him. So he stopped trying, he gave up. And the blinding white of the fog swallowed up the bridge, along with the simple mirage of his teammates and sensei.

And then a great explosion hummed in his ears, and he'd been wide-awake. Deidara always did come in with a bang. The fight had been quick. In the end, he'd had to abandon his campsite and flee. It was shameful of him, but he had had no choice, using all his remaining strength and energy to escape quickly enough to leave his attackers behind in the mist. Gradually over the past year, that was beginning to be the only option left to him with the Akatsuki. Orochimaru's seal was really dampening his ability to fend for himself, but he didn't want to admit it to anyone, least of all himself and especially Tsunade.

With that train of though, anxious feelings arose in Naruto's stomach. Soon Akatsuki would find him here. It might take them a bit longer than usual, but eventually they would. He always gave them 2 or 3 months at the longest before he was affronted with another attack. They might not suspect him in Konoha seeing as he hadn't been near here in 10 years, instead choosing to travele across oceans and over mountains just to put distance between himself and fire country. They had gotten cocky, not that they hadn't always been, but would forego the normal tracking methods because of it.

If he were lucky, he would say he had 4 or 5 months before anything were to happen, but he wasn't normally that lucky. Hopefully he would have the seal problem fixed and be able to leave before then. Just to feel chakra throbbing through his body again…he wanted to feel that once more so badly. But Jaraiya…

Naruto was afraid the toad sage would be mad. He hadn't really given any warning the day he left. Nervous about seeing him again after 7 years, he turned his thoughts elsewhere.

This merging business with the fox was a bit unsettling, but recently he had gained courage do to the extra seal to enter the fox's domain within him and discuss it. He was evil and vicious, no doubt, blood as cold as hell frozen over, but he had his civil moments and their conversations had always been interesting. It had also helped to soothe the loneliness that'd begun to grow inside Naruto's chest like an illness.

Deeming this moment as good as any, what, with the early birds begging to wheel about in the sky and call their greetings, Naruto decided to talk now, wanting a reprieve from his own thoughts.

Closing his eyes, he took several deep breaths, imagining himself walking down a set of steep stairs, deeper and deeper into his psyche. Once he reached the bottom, his feet splashed into warm, ankle deep water. Before him stood the great cage of the demon, and with his arrival into the chamber, the water began to bubble, though it seemed to grow slightly colder rather than hot.

A low, familiar rumbling signaled Naruto to step closer to the frigid bars of the cage.

"Host, I see you have come back," an elegantly silky voice said, vibrating in Naruto's ears and ribcage. "How are the injuries?"

A small twist of Naruto's lips was enough for dark red eyes to understand, but Naruto spoke anyway.

"I didn't know you cared so much."

There was a pause, then, "If you die, so do I, and I have no plans of that happening anytime soon. But I have come to garner respect for you, despite you standing in the way of my freedom."

Naruto raised a shocked eyebrow at that.

There was the deep thunder of the Kyuubi's laughter.

"Do not look so surprised. In the first years of your life, I did despise you, so angered was I at the vile human who tricked and controlled me with his Uchiha eyes, and I did not understand how a mere human babe could keep me prisoner so efficiently. But you are unlike him in everyway, devoid of greed or malice. And in the past months, I have realized you are powerful on your own, without my help. Twenty-five years is a mere breath in the eternal lifetime of a demon, and I have watched you grow and strengthen as the years wore on. There is a potential all your own that lies inside you. I see this in you, and believe despite the situation forced on us, that we can come to be comrades in a way."

Naruto pondered this for a moment. He felt honored, odd as it sounded. He and the demon had already discussed Madara and how the Kyuubi had come to attack Konoha. Naruto did feel bad for the path of fate that had led the powerful demon to this moment in time, destined to die with the mortal host he had been sealed inside. But a question arose in his mind.

His hesitance was noted by the demon, who, having watched Naruto's life up to the point of the most recent sealing which barred him from such pleasures, understood the many quirks of the human before him.

"Come kit, spit out what it is you have to say."

Glancing upward at the imposing figure, Naruto nodded in determined sort of way.

"Wouldn't you prefer it if the Akatsuki captured me," he began quietly. "They want to extract you from my body. Then you would have a much larger hope of freedom." He could see the thoughtful expression on the fox's furry face, but continued.

"Neither of us knows for certain what will happen if ever the merge completes itself. Our chakra may never be distinguishable as separate entities again, and then all hope for you might be lost."

There was a moment of silence as the demon ruminated.

"This is true young one, but the Akatsuki only wish to control me, and I will not be controlled by a mere mortal again. If ever they got the chance to rip me from you, I would tear them limb from limb and enjoy their screams of pain. Plus, there is a chance that with the merge, your longevity might be extended. There may be many things for you that might change."

This did make sense, but a familiar worry creased Naruto's brow.

"But, will either of us exist as we are now afterwards? Who is the more dominant personality in this body? Surely you, for you are a demon, but you have never had full control of me before." Naruto began to pace anxiously at his own thoughts.

"Not this again," grumbled the demon. "Nothing can be known for certain. It would be best to just let things play out. More might be revealed to us later on. If it were not for that disgusting Orochimaru, perhaps we would have our answers sooner. But for now we must wait."

Naruto nodded, knowing that the Kyuubi was being logical, and was perhaps right.

Red eyes followed Naruto as he continued to pace, before the demon could take no more.

Snapping his incisors, he spoke. "Stop trodding as you are. You begin to wear me out with all your movement."

Naruto gave an apologetic glance upwards before returning to stand in front of the cage. Nodding in approval, the demon spoke again.

"I assume we are in Konoha. Tell me, what has your human leader said about all that has come to pass? And how are the companions that you mentioned before? The dark one and frothy pink one?"

Naruto chuckled at his description of Sakura, but addressed his first question.

"Tsunade-baba was not happy that I had kept the merge nor Orochimaru's seal to myself for so long. She plans to send for Jaraiya, I'm sure you remember him. He knows a great deal about seals. Perhaps he can help lift the one that was placed on me. Until then, there is not much she can do."

"Ah yes, the older pervert that you cherish so," the demon said. "I do not like his companionship as much as that other pervert sensei of yours, but he does seem wise. Maybe he will be able to help."

Naruto laughed outright at that. "Yes, well," he hesitated again, but spoke his worries. "Tsunade has refused to allow me to leave again. She demands I stay in the village. I don't think it's the best course of action. I should be away from here; otherwise my leaving in the first place will have been pointless. The Akatsuki—"

"Is the very reason you should stay," Interrupted the Kyuubi.

Naruto sputtered, looking up with astounded eyes. "How could you agree with her? You know what they are capable of! I would not have the village come to decimation because of me!"

The demon rolled his eyes, frustrated. "Yes, but for once think about yourself, kit. You have worked hard all your life, most of all this past year. Do you not think, after ten years, that you deserve a small reprieve? Despite what other's think, you are still human. And you do still bleed."

Naruto pursed his lips at that. His answer was no. Sometimes life was simply unfair, and he understood that. The demon could see this reflected in blue eyes and sighed, gusting warm air across Naruto's face, blond hair curling about his shoulders. It smelled oddly of a campfire in winter.

"Come, tell me of your…friends. I suppose that is what you humans would call them," the Kyuubi said, changing the subject.

He had believed it would lighten the child's spirits as it had always done before, but instead it seemed to weigh just as heavily on him. "Are they unwell? You do not seem happy."

"No, it isn't that," Naruto responded, shaking his head slightly. He frowned at himself. "They are well and healthy. They have a child now."

The demon nodded at that. "Yes, a kit of their own. That is good, is it not?"

"Yeah, it is, it's great. Sasuke has always had ambitions of restarting his clan, and she is a beautiful little girl. I could already sense on her the potential of the sharingan."

"Hmph," the demon grunted. "The Uchiha clan have always threatened me with their eyes. And I have not seen any redeeming trait in this Sasuke of yours, but I do feel that you believe in him, so I, too, will decide to believe in his worthiness."

Naruto smiled at this. "Aww, is that a soul I see peeking out of you, Kyuubi."

The demon growled lowly, "Don't push your luck child."

Naruto chuckled.

"And the flower, what was her name? Sakura? How does she fare?"

"She is good, but something seems odd." Naruto said, remembering the event of Ino.

"Odd," the demon asked, interested. "How so?"

"I can't really tell quite yet, but if I find out, I'll be sure to let you know."

The demon hummed quietly in response. "Very well." He paused for a moment, seemingly listening to something before he spoke again. "You had best go. The sun has gained footing in the sky."

Naruto nodded. "Alright, until next time."

And then he was blinking sunlight from out of his eyes. Standing, he dusted grainy dirt from off the seat of his pants, and carefully stretched.

Turning back the way he came, he made to return to the house, but this time he walked a little faster knowing how Sakura might worry if she found he had disappeared. She might even notify Tsunade, and he didn't really want a team of ninja out scouring the land for him, especially seeing as he hadn't even left the village.

Breathing deeply, Naruto ducked under a low hanging tangle of leaves, smiling at a passing wind that cooled his skin and brushed hair from off his neck. He was thankful for being able to talk with the Kyuubi, who was surprisingly a very good companion. If it weren't for the fact that he was a forced companion and would have otherwise probably ripped Naruto's head off if they had crossed paths any other way than under sealing. But, as long as Naruto put that out of his mind, he honestly was happy for the company. Sometimes the intimidating demon could even take on the role of a big brother, checking up on his health and asking after how the day had gone.

Smirking at that thought, he returned to more serious matters. He just needed to get through the day, one at a time. Then he could return to running, and maybe he would never have to look back.

~.~

"Akane, hon, your hair is a complete mess. March back up those stairs and grab me a brush. I'll help you get all those tangles out."

Akane simply blinked groggily at her mom before stretching her little mouth in a yawn and trudging back upstairs. Sakura shook her head a little, smiling to herself and dropping her hands from her hips where they had risen in an authoritative pose, as they always seemed to do when she was giving her cute daughter an order. Or when she was giving anyone an order, for that matter.

Turning back to the stove, she saw that her water had begun to boil and added 7 cups of dry rice. Whatever was left over from breakfast she planned to use to make lunch for today and maybe a couple days after that. It would saver her the trouble of having to make more.

Adding a litte bit of salt, she grabbed a glass bowl and began to prepare the rice vinegar with a tiny bit of sugar. Neither Sasuke nor Akane liked it too sweet, though, surprisingly, Sasuke liked sugar on his tomatoes.

Hearing the stairs creak behind her, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Ino come around the corner. Upon seeing Sakura, Ino grinned sleepily and walked over, wrapping arms around Sakura's thin waist.

"Morning," Ino said, yawing a little and scrunching her nose up sleepily. Sakura smiled, leaning back only slightly into the embrace before pushing Ino away gently.

"Be careful, don't forget Naruto is here," she warned, not for the first time, in a cautious whisper. She couldn't decide whether to tell him or not about the relationship she had with Ino. She didn't think he would be offended by it, but she was supposed to be in love with Sasuke. That's what the whole village thought anyway. And if he wasn't even going to stick around that long…. there wasn't really a point, was there?

Ino scowled, mumbling under her breath.

"Oh yeah," she finally said, rolling her eyes. Despite her outward grumpiness over not being able to love up on her Sakura-no-hana, she was glad that Sakura seemed happy about Naruto. Hell, she was even happy about Naruto's return, but it would take her a while to admit that out loud.

Catching the dismal look on her koi's face, however, she frowned. Sakura had turned back to the bubbling rice, but Ino tilted her face back towards her until she was facing her again. The gloomy look in jade eyes made Ino tilt her head in understanding.

"Hey, hey, don't look like that Sakura," she said, scooting a little closer to her despite her earlier warning.

Sakura's eyes seemed to wobble for a moment. "I can't help it. I'm so happy to see him again…and maybe he really could help Sasuke…but I don't know if I can watch him leave again." A stray tear rolled down her cheek and she hastily wiped it away.

Ino frowned more intensely, almost wishing Naruto hadn't come back at all for all the trouble he was causing. But she mournfully shook her head at herself, knowing she didn't really feel that way.

Leaning in, she gently kissed Sakura, tasting it as a few more salty tears slipped down over her lips. For a moment Sakura visibly hesitated, glancing over Ino's shoulder back towards the staircase. Any moment Akane might come down with the brush, if the sweetheart hadn't simply climbed back into bed instead. And Naruto…

But she craved this, craved the closeness she had always desired as a child. Leaning forward slightly off the counter, she kissed back, enjoying the warm circles and patterns Ino drew into her skin and cheeks.

"Ugg, if you plan to do that, please don't do it where food is made and consumed."

Sakura jumped, blushing and ducking behind Ino's shoulder. Glancing up, she smiled sheepishly at Sasuke. "Umm, good morning Sasuke-kun…"

"Oi, I was just getting a chance to loosen her up, what with her being all uptight, thinking Naruto's going to jump out of the fridge or something, and you just had to come along and ruin it!" Ino huffed, jamming hair behind her ears before just deciding to go ahead and put it up. Shaking her head and mumbling to herself in frustration, she glanced at the clock, and realized she would be late anyway. Stalking past Sasuke and into the hall, wary of her askew elbows as she was still putting her hair up, she headed for the door.

Frowning, Sakura hurried after her. "Where are you going," she called down the entryway.

With her hand on the doorknob, Ino turned back slightly and smiled reassuringly. "My cute little genins are waiting for me. Don't worry, I'll be back for lunch if they don't demand I treat them."

"Oh," Sakura smiled, having forgotten about the daily duties they all had in the midst of all that had happened. "Okay, have fun and try not to blow up on them too much. Remember how you felt as a genin."

Pouting, Ino nodded, opening the door and throwing a wave over her shoulder before heading out. Shaking her head, Sakura stared at the door for a moment longer before sighing and walking back into the kitchen just in time to take the rice off the hot eye.

She went about setting the table and pouring miso soup into little bowls, trying to ignore the eyes she felt on her. Finally growing exasperated with Sasuke's relentless staring, she huffed and put the bundle of chopsticks down on the counter before turning around and glaring at him.

"What!"

Sasuke just raised an eyebrow, as impassive as ever, and gave a shrug. "Hmm," he hummed after a moment. Getting up from the table he walked around the kitchen island that separated them to stand in front of her, picking a strand of pink floss hair from her forehead. "You've been crying."

Looking away, Sakura glared at the hardwood floor instead. "So?" She mumbled towards her toes. Sasuke continued to stare at her a beat longer, before returning to his seat at the table.

Just then, Akane bustled into the kitchen, a little less sleepy eyed, and with a horsehair brush in her hand. Upon seeing Sasuke at the table, she cried with glee and scrambled over and up into his lap, bouncing and smiling up at him.

"Daddy, will you brush my hair? Pretty please?" She gave her best puppy dog eyes and giggled when he nodded his head, grinning the ghost of a smile back down at her.

Sakura scrubbed her eyes a little harder to make sure all remnants of tears had vanished. She didn't want Akane to notice anything was wrong. Glancing up, she stared at the near perfect scene lain before her. Early morning sun slanted across the small breakfast table, striping it in ribbons of light. Dishes lay out waiting for food and laughter to accompany them on the tabletop. And there, at the end of the rectangular table, sat Saske, gently brushing out the tangles in their daughter's hair. Much gentler than she ever had the patience to do. Such tenderness creased his brow, and laughter sang in his eyes as Akane spoke of her dream the night before.

"…and then the big flower, it was all red and pretty, it started singing the alphabet, and then, and then, out of no where, out pops Taka dressed like a bumble bee!" Akane said enthusiastically.

"A bumble bee?" Sasuke exclaimed, playing along.

"Yeah, and he looked so adorable, I wanted to pinch his cheeks," Akane giggled back.

Sakura shook her head at the adorable absurdity.

Finally, she turned back around and served the cooled rice and miso soup.

Absent mindedly, she asked Akane to run upstairs and grab Naruto to come and have breakfast as soon as she was done having her hair brushed. Hearing her little feet scampering up the stairs, Sakura returned to the table and sat down on Sasuke's right.

Giving the same stare he had earlier given her, she waited for him to turn to her. He just blinked at her, but she accepted it as her queue to speak.

"Please be civil. I know that things are…tense. But, just try, at least while Akane is around."

Sasuke scowled a moment, but nodded tersely in agreement. Akane came jogging back down the stairs and stuck her head in the kitchen doorway.

Frowning she said, "Naru-kun isn't upstairs mommy."

Both Sakura and Sasuke simultaneously looked up.

"What?" They said in unison.

Standing up, Sasuke was about to go upstairs to look himself when there was a light rapping on the door and a soft touch of a familiar chakra asked hesitantly if it was ok to come in, like an animal intruding on another's territory. Glancing at Sakura, he saw that she hadn't been sent the same invisible question.

Nodding his head slightly, he somehow knew that Naruto could feel what he was doing. It must have had something to do with the Kyuubi or something. As he heard near silent padding coming down the hall, he repeated over and over in his mind, "_be civil, be civil, be civil."_

~.~

Slowly moving into the kitchen, he was caught off guard by the way all the inhabitants of the room were staring at him. Akane's round little eyes kept glancing between her parents and then back at him.

"Umm…." He mumbled, combing hair back out of his face.

"Where did you go?" Sakura asked. She gestured for him to come sit down. Only then did he notice the food on the table and fidgeted, feeling guilty for barging in on their family time, but moved to sit down. He didn't answer Sakura's question right away, instead turning to look at the little, dark eyes that peered over the table top at him.

He blinked a moment, unsure of what to do, but decided to smile down at the little girl. "Good morning, Akane-san. I trust you slept well."

She nodded. "Yeah, I had this really cool dream…what happened to the braid I did for you the other night?" She stared up at him with her innocent eyes.

Confused, Naruto patted the back of his head, realizing that his hair had been loose for a while. The hair tie must have slipped out when he jumped out of the window. Rubbing his head anxiously, he smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry, I think I lost your hair tie by accident."

Akane smiled at him. "Well, that's ok, I loose a lot of stuff all the time," she said, crawling up into the chair next to him.

"Naruto, you still haven't answered my question," Sakura said, drawing his attention back to her.

"Oh, I just went for a walk. I smelt water and…" he saw the weird looks he was getting. "Well, I walked to a lake, anyway," he mumbled.

"You must mean the Unnamed Lake," Sasuke said. Naruto blinked dumbly at him.

"Yeah, I suppose. Why doesn't it have a name?"

Sasuke glanced up from his rice. " That is the name. Unnamed Lake."

"Oh." Naruto fidgeted a bit more.

"Well, go on, eat up. You always did have a large appetite," Sakura said, smiling at him.

"Yes, thank you," he said but he didn't pick up his chopsticks. He felt too nervous. In his mind, he chastised himself. _'Coward. You can fight enemies day in and day out, but you can't simply sit at a table with some old acquaintances? Pathetic.' _

He was saved from himself however, by the sound of a bell that echoed through the house. He realized a bit belatedly that it was the doorbell.

Sakura got up from the table, having set her own chopsticks down.

"I wonder if Ino forgot something," she murmured to herself, obviously not expecting company.

Naruto squirmed in his seat, and even flinched when Sasuke looked up at the movement. He refused to look up from the table, picking up his chopsticks and shoveling some rice in his mouth. Akane giggled beside him.

"Don't eat so fast, silly," she said, chewing her own rice slowly as if to show him how it was done.

Naruto laughed.

"Naruto," Sakura called, "you have a visitor."

Confused Naruto got up.

"A visitor? For me?"

Carefully averting his eyes away from where Sasuke sat, he missed the almost angry look on Sasuke's face. He was about to walk away from the table to see whom it was at the door when Akane raised her arms up at him and wiggled in her seat.

This time he did glance at Sasuke, once again asking permission. Sasuke looked intensely at him for a moment before nodding minutely and returning to his food. Naruto bent down and effortlessly scooped Akane up to balance her a little awkwardly on his hip and then moved down the hall.

He could see Sakura talking to someone, but couldn't see who it was around the door. As they drew nearer, Akane half buried her face in Naruto's neck shyly. It felt weird to Naruto, who had never had someone trust him like this before. A child this age had never even been allowed near him before.

Hearing him approach, Sakura looked over her shoulder and smiled, opening the door wider to reveal Iruka and Kakashi-sensei on the doorstep. Iruka didn't look any different, hair still the same length and up in a high ponytail, humble smile, and shining chocolate eyes. Smiling happily, Naruto carefully set Akane down before taking two long steps and scooping Iruka up in a tight hug, crushing him to his wide chest and laughing.

Iruka gasped, but didn't struggle eventually hugging Naruto back once he was set back on his feet.

"Naruto!" He cried, looking up. "Oh my, you've grown so much. And you're hair!" For a moment his lip trembled but he bit it and hugged Naruto again. Then he got a glint in his eye and smacked Naruto on the head.

"How could you do that, just leaving without a word? Don't do that to me again, or I will hunt you down and skin you alive!"

Naruto sweat dropped, rubbing the sore spot on his head and raising his hands in an appeasing manner.

Kakashi chuckled. Pulling out his signature orange book, he stuck his nose in it and followed Iruka in as Sakura waved them in and Naruto continuously apologized. His little dolphin did have quite a temper when it came down to it. He had been on the receiving end of it before, and he didn't really want to be on that end ever again. Iruka had even gone so far as to threaten his precious romance novels (as he liked to call them) with a fiery death! Oh yes, his Iruka-koi was quite a dangerous man.

AN: I hope you liked it. PLLEEAASSSEE, review!


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